Aryna Sabalenka: 'I Didn't Want To Become World No. 1 Like This'
Aryna Sabalenka didn't want Iga Swiatek to lose against Jelena Ostapenko at the 2023 US Open, as she wanted to be the one to beat her.
There are multiple reasons why Sabalenka wanted Swiatek to win her match, but obviously, the number one was to battle her directly in a match. Playing against the best is what she wants to do, especially on the Grand Slam level.
We narrowly missed out on that matchup at Roland Garros, and we didn't get to see it at Wimbledon either. Their Madrid Open match was excellent, so it's a shame that we won't see it but Ostapenko earned her place with that superb win.
I was about to go to sleep in the second set, but it was really interesting to watch. Okay, I'm going to watch, like, first couple of games just to see the situation. I watched them. I was just like, No, I'm not going to watch it till the end. I went to bed.
But, I mean, to be honest, I didn't want her to lose. I was watching that match and I was just like, C'mon, win it. I was really not like sure, but after some of the upsets, I was really not like sure, but after some of the upsets, I thought she's probably going to make it to the final.
The other reason why Sabalenka wanted Swiatek to win the match is the number one battle. Clearly, Sabalenka could take away the number one rank from Swiatek if she beat her in New York. Beating her directly in a match would have been ideal for Sabalenka, who admitted that she didn't want to become number one like this.
As a consequence of somebody else's win, but that's how it happened. She'll take it, though as it's a dream come true.
So I was like, I was sad, but at the same time I have to be happy because it's not like she just fell. All year I've been playing well. I put her kind of like under pressure. I was just like sad and happy at the same time. I didn't want to become world No. 1 like this. I want a battle for this.
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