Aryna Sabalenka came close to the US Open final last year, and she's determined to rectify that this year with a newfound approach.
Sabalenka has had a really good run at Grand Slams this year. She won the Australian Open and came within inches of the Roland Garros final. The Wimbledon final wasn't that far away either, and she's hopeful her previous positive memories from New York help her get to the final at Flushing Meadows.
It will be tricky, as many great players are trying to do the same, but Sabalenka is confident in her approach. She admitted before the event that she takes a different approach to Grand Slams, taking it far more seriously.
She was okay in Montreal and solid in Cincinnati; however, those WTA 1000 events were preparation for the US Open. Now is the real deal, and she's going to be fully locked in for the next 14 days, as she revealed in her press conference.
Yeah, you know what, I change my approach to these tournaments. Of course, I want to win all of them, like we all do. But, yeah, now I'm looking to those tournaments more like preparation for the Grand Slam. Yeah, I think it's changed a little bit after Australia Open. I don't know if it's good or bad. I hope it's good. But it is what it is.
Sabalenka has the perfect game to do well at the US Open with a powerful serve and strong baseline play. It's not by chance that she played so well here; those strengths could also be her downfall. The serve can still be hit or miss; she'll need it.
Her baseline play is pretty stable, but under a lot of pressure can become shaky. Being a champion is not easy, and she knows it. Let's we whether she can find the spark she had in Melbourne earlier this year.
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