Aryna
Sabalenka sent a greeting to her sister after her victory over
Maria Camila Osorio Serrano at
the
Madrid Open.
The
Belarusian player is showing in Madrid that she can be just as strong on clay
as on hard courts. Sabalenka did not play in Monte-Carlo and began the clay
season last week in Stuttgart, where she achieved victories over two of the top
specialists on the surface, Paula Badosa and Barbora Krejcikova, but was
defeated in the final by Iga Swiatek.
The
Australian Open 2023 champion is still in good form and advanced to the third
round of the Madrid Open with a victory over Camila Osorio, a young opponent
who always performs well on clay. A fun moment occurred during Sabalenka's
on-court interview when she interrupted the interviewer to send a warm greeting
to her sister Tonya.
"I
promised my sister to say 'Hi' to her, so 'Hi Tonya, I love you and I miss
you'," world No. 2 said.
She also
talked about the match she won against the Colombian tennis player Camila Osorio:
"I'm
happy with the win. She's a great player and she fought for every point. It was
a really great match," Sabalenka said.
"That's
something that I expected, especially against players like her. She can return,
she can play long rallies, and she can come back to the match. I just kept
telling myself I have to keep going for my shots and I just have to make her
move because she's not going to move all day long. Once I will get this
approach shot and I will be able to finish the point," she added.
In the
round of 16, Sabalenka will be challenged by the young Russian sensation Mirra
Andreeva, who just turned 16 yesterday and has already defeated Leylah
Fernandez, Beatriz Haddad Maia, and Magda Linette this week, making a dream
path to face a Grand Slam champion like Sabalenka.