Aryna Sabalenka closes in on Iga Swiatek for the world No.1 list after her title win at the Wuhan Open in China over the weekend.
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SABALENKA CLOSES IN ON SWIATEK IN WTA LIST AFTER WUHAN TITLE CONQUEST
Sabalenka closes in on Swiatek after the Belarussian humbled home bet Zheng Qinwen to hoist her third Wuhan Open title in Sunday’s final.
Furthermore, the world No.2’s 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 victory over Zheng moved her to just 69 points behind current No.1 Swiatek.
Her sights are set on snatching the No.1 title away from Swiatek in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) list.
Moreover, Swiatek first took the No.1 spot for 75 weeks before temporarily yielding it to Sabalenka.
However, the Polish tennis star regained the top position from Sabalenka after more than 50 weeks.
Thus, Swiatek became only the seventh player to post multiple 50-weeks as WTA’s No.1.
BELARUSSIAN STILL WORKING ON ‘TOUCH GAME,’ DROP SHOTS
Moreover, the Belarusian is still working to improve their skills, such as enhancing their “touch game” and playing drop shots.
Furthermore, Sabalenka is convinced that mixing her skills in attacking the net and developing her power shots would be a dangerous combination against her opponents.
“I love to practice this touch game because I know how much benefit it can give me in my game,” the world No.2 told the “WTA Insider Podcast”.
“I know that I will never forget how to hit the ball,” she added.
She also draws inspiration from the “big 3” of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic, who continue to improve their games despite their rivalry on the court.
ARYNA GRACIOUS TO GIVE ADVICE TO WUHAN SEMIS VICTIM GAUFF
Furthermore, Sabalenka was gracious in giving advice to American Coco Gauff.
Sabalenka beat Gauff in the semifinals, 1-6, 6-4, 604.
Moreover, the world No.2 urged Gauff to find a way to overcome her “serve situation” in tense games.
“I know what she’s going through. Well, girl, I feel you. I feel you like nobody else,” Sabalenka told Gauff.
“But I know that if she’ll be able to overcome this serve situation, she already one of the best players,” she added.
Gauff took the opening and was ahead, 4-2, in the second set.
This was when the American’s serving problems popped up and unraveled.
This was the opportunity for Sabalenka to come back and send the match to a decider before claiming a place in the final.
The Belarussian won her fourth title of the year to raise her overall WTA singles title collection to 17.