Sabalenka Shakes Off Miami Upset And Silences Critics
WTAThursday, 30 March 2023 at 19:30
Updated at Thursday, 27 March 2025 at 20:29
Aryna Sabalenka didn't seem to be too bothered by her loss to Sorana Cirstea at the Miami Open this year.
Sabalenka's loss to Cirstea was a surprising one, and certainly not something the Belarusian player planned, but she was beaten by a player who simply played a better match.
After the loss, Sabalenka wasn't overreacting, but the same can't be said for many on social media. Many were harsh on the Belarusian because of her loss, but she couldn't care less about some social media comments.
"Yeah, I think the key would be just to focus on myself, don't think about social media, don't think about the people, expectations. Just focus on myself. Just do my thing, and I believe that if I'm going to play the same level or even better, wins will come. I just have to keep working hard, yeah, keep moving forward."
Despite a tricky week in Miami that included an injury scare, Sabalenka seemed to be in very good spirits during her press conference after losing to Cirstea.
"There were some tough lessons in the first part of the season. I'll just learn (smiling), reset, and start working again from the beginning. Yeah, do my best to make sure I bring my best tennis on the clay court season."
A lot went wrong for Sabalenka in the match against Cirstea, but she singled out control of the ball as the biggest problem. The conditions in general kind of bothered her, but she couldn't control the ball very well, committing six double faults in the process as well.
"Yeah, it definitely wasn't my best match. I was struggling a lot with the conditions, like heat. I felt like balls were flying too much and I couldn't find control, controlling the ball. Yeah, was just trying to do my best till the last point. I just couldn't adjust to these conditions unfortunately. Next time I'll try better."
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