WTA No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka fired a warning shot to Iga Swiatek that she's determined to fend off all challengers in her quest to reach the ultimate dream of becoming the No. 1 player.
Unlike the men's tour, where Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic have played ping-pong with the No. 1 ranking for a year, Swiatek has hoarded her status as the WTA's undisputed No. 1 for a total of 74 consecutive weeks, putting her in 10th spot in the overall list of most weeks at No. 1.
In that timespan, Swiatek left the door open on a couple of occasions, but Sabalenka could not capitalize, most recently at Wimbledon when she came within one match win from unseating the Polish star from the top. But Sabalenka is prowling for any mishaps from the 22-year-old Swiatek at the US Open.
Shortly after sauntering past British player Jodie Burrage in the second round, Sabalenka explained that she was not focused on that achievement, but made her ambition perfectly clear - the No. 1 ranking is one of her goals and dreams.
"It’s just a chance first of all. I’m not really focusing on that. But of course, it’s going to mean a lot for me. It’s one of the goals & one of the dreams. I’ll do my best to reach my dream."
Sabalenka's cause looks very straightforward here, as is the case for Swiatek. They need to go one round better than the other. And if the seedings hold and we end up with a straight shootout in the final, whoever wins the women's crown at the end of the fortnight will leave New York as the World No. 1.
Right now it looks like the player who plays first and wins their next match exerts the pressure on the other. Swiatek has that advantage, as she is scheduled to play her good friend Kaja Juvan on Friday, while Sabalenka will face unseeded French player Clara Burel a day later.
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