Aryna Sabalenka puts herself 'back together' after staring at Australian Open exit

Aryna Sabalenka is advancing towards her goal of winning her third consecutive Australian Open title, with a strategy that is both simple and effective. She focuses on taking things “one step at a time,” stating that as long as she can perform at her best in every match, even if not in peak condition, while displaying the strongest fighting spirit, she believes she is capable of achieving a three-peat.

In her quarterfinal match on Tuesday night against 27th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Sabalenka found herself in a precarious position. After losing the second set, Pavlyuchenkova gained momentum, breaking the world No. 1 Sabalenka's serve three times in a row. At the start of the third set, Pavlyuchenkova broke serve again, presenting a significant challenge for Sabalenka.

Sabalenka then broke back in the second game, only for Pavlyuchenkova to immediately break back, taking a 2-1 lead. At this crucial moment, Sabalenka, drawing on her experience as a three-time Grand Slam singles champion, won five of the next six games to ultimately win the match and advance to the semifinals on Thursday against 11th seed Paula Badosa. Sabalenka admitted that she was “a little bit all over the place” at the time, but thankfully, she was able to adjust her state and get back into the game.

Sabalenka stated, “I'm happy that at some point I was able to come back and get back into the match. I was able to keep fighting, keep trying, and I was able to turn it around. It was a tough one.” If Sabalenka can lift the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup again, she will become only the sixth player in the Open Era to achieve this feat, following in the footsteps of Martina Hingis, Margaret Court, Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Steffi Graf, and Monica Seles.

Sabalenka realizes there are still many obstacles to overcome in order to win the title again. She feels honored to have the opportunity to stand alongside the greats of tennis, saying, “I'm really happy to put myself in this position to have the opportunity to be one of them. To be on the list with those names, wow, it's a dream. Of course, I'm always thinking that I can do it.”

Defeating Badosa, who eliminated third seed Coco Gauff in the quarterfinals, will not be easy, as the Spanish player has shown impressive form at Melbourne Park. However, Sabalenka is not overly concerned about her match against her friend Badosa, stating, “I think she's playing really well. I think I just have to focus on myself, I have to be aggressive and put a lot of pressure on her.”