Aryna Sabalenka has revealed details of the practice sessions she had with Novak Djokovic in Greece and urged the 24-time Grand Slam champion to confirm she was a good hitting partner.
Sabalenka met up with Djokovic while she spent time away in Greece with her boyfriend, Georgios Frangulis, following her US Open victory last month.
Djokovic has recently moved to Greece with his young family and appears to have built a strong bond with Sabalenka, as she told Tennis365 in Wuhan that she enjoyed competitive hitting sessions on court with the former world No 1.
She even went as far as to joke that Djokovic will need to thank her if he wins this week’s ATP 1000 tournament in Shanghai.
“Well, he was really competitive, and he was screaming when he was winning a point against me,” said Sabalenka with a smile.
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“I won a lot of points against him for the record. I hope he’s gonna confirm that!
“We practised a couple of times. I hope I was a great hitting partner. So far, he’s winning in Shanghai. I guess I was, it was a good one. I really hope he’s gonna go all the way. He’s gonna win the tournament. And I’m gonna say it was all down to me!
“We had some fun time in Greece. I love them, like him and Elena (Djokovic’s wife). He’s always open to giving me advice. They are so fun. We went for dinner. We had so much fun.”
Sabalenka was pushed all the way in her opening match played in sweltering conditions at the Wuhan Open, as she eventually came through 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.
The world No 1 struggled in the first set and showed plenty of signs of frustration as she missed too many balls before finding her form to the delight of her fans in China.
“I am super happy with the win,” stated Sabalenka. “She played incredible tennis in the first set. Not much I could do in that set, but I’m really happy that I found my rhythm and I was able to get the win. Yeah, happy to be to be through.
“I was just trying to find my rhythm and going into this match, I knew it’s not going to be an easy one.
“She’s moving well, making the opponent work for every point. And I had a little break. Yeah, I did a great preparation.
“After the first set, I was more like frustrated with myself, but it was kind of like good frustration, because it gave me that emotional push to to keep keep trying and to keep fighting and to serve better.”
Novak Djokovic celebrates
Sabalenka also suggested the humid conditions in China will be a real challenge for the rest of the week, with the weather in Wuhan set to be very hot until Sunday’s final, when temperatures are due to cool.
“Honestly, I thought that this year, the US Open was quite humid, but when I came here, I realised that US Open was not humid at all,” she added.
“The humidity is insane and I think this year, conditions are incredibly, incredibly tough in Wuhan.
“So I did a great preparation in Greece, and I came here I had like, four or five days to prepare for these conditions for this world, but the court is definitely slower, and, yeah, it’s heavier conditions, but I think I’m ready.”
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