Sabalenka vs Danilovic: Things we learned

No.1 leaves lefties in her wake

For the second match in succession, the top seed squared off against a lefty, following her earlier victory over Swiss Jil Teichmann.

During one stretch between 2018 and 2020, Sabalenka lost eight of 12 matches against southpaws, but her latest win lifted her to 13-3 from her past 16 encounters, which dates back to January 2020.

It was a marked turnaround, no coincidence given her emergence as a Grand Slam powerhouse and the world’s top-ranked player, but it nevertheless reflects how much the 27-year-old’s maturity and tactics have evolved.

She was not without her difficulties against the determined Serbian, the second-highest ranked player outside the seedings in Paris, but after the pair traded breaks in the second set, Sabalenka withstood one last hurrah – she saved a break point to serve it out after 79 minutes.

Don’t mess with the tension

Played in full sun in a bright and breezy 27C on Friday, it was a vast difference in conditions to her match against Teichmann two days earlier, when early-evening temperatures were barely half that.

An adjustment in tactics to suit conditions and the subsequent effect on ball speed is a given for players at this level.

Some went as far as tweaking their racket string tensions to suit. Sabalenka preferred to keep it simple.

“Honestly, I play with the same tension, but my team had half a kilo up (in tension) and half kilo down, for I don't know which reason,” she said. “I felt pretty good with the same tension and the balls flew much better (today). I felt much better so probably when it's colder I have to lower my tension so the ball flies a little bit better, we'll see. Maybe I'll have to adjust my racket to another condition.”

Big future for Danilovic

A dash through qualifying to her maiden Grand Slam fourth round in Paris last year was Danilovic’s coming-of-age moment when she entered the fray as a dangerous prospect on the big stages.

Another run to the last 16 in Melbourne in January, which included an upset of seventh seed Jessica Pegula and a final in Rouen last month only cemented her case.

Sabalenka beat the 24-year-old in qualifying in Madrid seven years ago but noticed a greatly improved opponent on Court Philippe-Chatrier on Friday.

“Game-wise, she definitely has everything to be in top 20, top 10," Sabalenka said. "It's all about if mentally she'll be ready to handle all of the pressure and she'll be ready to stay there and fight.

"But game-wise, I mean, doesn't matter what the score was, but it was a tough match. It was a fight. I really think that she has everything to be in top 15, top 10.” 

Teamwork makes the dream work

From team TikTok dances to roasting them when she loses finals, Sabalenka clearly thrives on keeping life outside her day job light-hearted and fresh.

"I mean, I do hate them," she laughed. "I'm just telling the truth."

It is a team – coach Anton Dubrov, trainer Jason Stacy and hitting partner Andrei Vasilevski – she wishes she'd had when she was younger, a nod to Mirra Andreeva after losing to her in this year’s Indian Wells final.

Having booked a fourth-round clash against 16th seed Amanda Anisimova, she made clear that she knows when it's time for all things serious.

“When I'm on court I'm a completely different person. I'm very aggressive, very focused and here it's not about joking, it's about dreams,” Sabalenka said.

“I give my all on court but off the court it's very important to first of all surround yourself with the right people and have fun with your crew and that's what I'm doing. I'm really grateful for each of them to have all of them on my team. We're like family.”