Aryna Sabalenka overcomes a former champ and her own demons to advance at Australian Open

Aryna Sabalenka faced a multifaceted challenge in the first round of the Australian Open. As the two-time defending champion at Melbourne Park, Sabalenka narrowly won her opening match against American Sloane Stephens with a score of 6-3, 6-2 on the first day of the tournament.

Although Stephens is not the force she once was, she is still a former Grand Slam champion. Most tour players would prefer not to face a former champion in the first round. At the start of the match, Sabalenka displayed the confidence and momentum of a defending champion, quickly taking a 4-0 lead. However, just when she might have been considering handing her opponent a "bagel" (i.e., 6-0), Stephens launched a strong counterattack, breaking Sabalenka's serve twice in a row to level the score.

Sabalenka had long overcome her serving issues from years past, but in this match, they resurfaced. She began to frequently miss her first serves, accompanied by a double fault, and her frustration became evident as she frequently gestured towards her support team in the stands. The atmosphere in the stadium also changed, with spectators sensing a potential upset or at least an epic three-set battle. The defending champion faced a stern test, but she ultimately passed it with an outstanding performance.

"I think after a couple of bad games, I kind of stepped back a little bit. I stepped back and gave her the opportunity to come back," she told reporters at Melbourne Park. "I'm really happy that at 4-3, I stepped in, I went to the net. I think that was the key to get me back into the match." Sabalenka admitted that a few years ago, she might not have been able to make such a crucial adjustment during a match. "I think it's a big difference from me three years ago," she said. "Back then, I would be frustrated, probably would lose the first set. I'm not sure if I would be able to win the match. I remember it was like that. I'm really happy that I improved my mental toughness. I'm able to stay focused, no matter what's the score, what's the situation. I'm focusing on the game, focusing on every point, one point at a time."

Sabalenka believes her ability to maintain consistency is also due to her not changing the seating arrangement for her player support team. In the past, all of a player's coaching team and family and friends would sit in the same area. However, with the introduction of courtside coaching boxes, players now have to look in two different areas for support during tough moments in a match. Sabalenka's team opted for the traditional approach, with all of them sitting in the stands. After her match, the world's number one joined male players like Stefanos Tsitsipas and Denis Shapovalov in criticizing the change. "Honestly, I don't really like this decision (to add coaching boxes)," she said. "If they do that, then they should add more seats. Like, personally, I like to see the whole team. I want to see my whole team in my box. Even if I'm not looking at everyone in the box, I'm always looking at my coach, but I can still see everyone. For me, it's important. Sometimes I just want to look at my boyfriend, just for support. I don't want to look at the coach first and then look at the box, because I have a lot of coaches. Four seats is not enough. If they could make it eight, I don't know how, but for me it would be much better. So we decided to put everyone in the box. Maybe they're a little bit squished there, not comfortable, but I see them all and they're comfortable."

Sabalenka's goal is to join a rare group in two weeks. If she wins the title again, she will become only the fifth woman in the history of Melbourne Park to achieve a three-peat, following Margaret Court (1969-71), Evonne Goolagong (1974-76), Steffi Graf (1988-90), and Martina Hingis (1997-99). However, this is not something she is thinking about right now. "The biggest lesson I learned last year was not to focus on being a defending champion, or having an opportunity to make history," she said when asked about her prospects of a three-peat. "I think the key is to focus on myself, do my best, and see what happens after the match. I don't know. Let's talk about it after the tournament, hopefully, I will be able to make the three-peat, and then I can tell you which one was the toughest."