Second seed Aryna Sabalenka temporarily put her friendship with Spaniard Paula Badosa on the back burner to secure a hard-fought 7-5, 6-1 third-round victory at the French Open on Saturday and keep alive her hopes of a maiden Roland Garros title.
The pair have enjoyed a strong bond since 2021 but there was no quarter given in a see-sawing first set as they swapped early breaks before Badosa attacked Sabalenka’s powerful serve in the sixth game, edging ahead with a return that hit the net cord.
“It’s tough to play your best friend. She’s an incredible player coming back after injury and I’m pretty sure she’s going to be back on top very soon,” said Sabalenka, who improved her head-to-head record with Badosa to 5-2.
“On court we’re opponents, I’m trying not to watch on the other side, just trying to focus on myself and just bring my best game, but anyway they’re tough matches against her.”
Spurred into action, the powerful Australian Open champion broke back and let out a scream that was met with cheers from fans on Philippe Chatrier court, before she recovered another loss of serve against her fellow 26-year-old.
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Last year’s semi-finalist hit a monster forehand to go up 6-5 and came up with a delightful backhand slice from the deep en route to closing out the opening set, as world number 139 Badosa reflected on her missed opportunities.
The former world number two, who has struggled with a back issue in recent years while Sabalenka claimed two Grand Slam titles, got off to a bad start in the next set as her Belarusian opponent reeled off four games in a row.
Sabalenka produced a superb drop to set up match point and the knockout blow came in the form of an unforced error from the racket of Badosa but was immediately followed by a warm hug at the net.
“Some days it’s actually getting more complicated to play,” Sabalenka said of the variety in her game.
“You have so many options, you’re thinking too much but today was a day where I wasn’t thinking that much, I was just feeling the game and I was trusting myself and just was going for all the shots.”
Sabalenka, who is bidding to become the first player since Serena Williams in 2015 to claim the Australian Open and Roland Garros titles in the same season, next faces American 14th seed Madison Keys or 22nd seed Emma Navarro.
Sabalenka keeps up good-luck ritual of signing trainer’s bald head
Aryna Sabalenka said she would continue to sign the bald head of her fitness trainer with a marker pen before matches as the bizarre ritual she began on a whim before her successful Australian Open defence continued to bring luck at the French Open on Saturday.
Sabalenka marched into the fourth of Roland Garros with a 7-5, 6-1 win over Paula Badosa and is now unbeaten in 10 matches at the majors, with television cameras invariably focusing on the shiny head of Jason Stacy each time, looking for her signature.
“It started from the beginning of the Australian Open. We all stand around. Me and Jason are in the middle and I sign his head with, I don’t know, classical music playing in the back. Oh no, no,” Sabalenka said, struggling to hold back laughter.
“I don’t know. It somehow started as -- I don’t want to swear right now because I’m trying to be better with my words -- but we like to do weird stuff. And then I won the tournament and I was like, ‘Jason we got to keep tradition going’.
“I wanted to do it in every tournament, every match, but he was just like ‘okay, let’s just at least pick this tradition for the Grand Slams’ and so far we are doing it.”
While her pre-match routine has remained constant, Sabalenka has mixed up her game on the court, adding variations in the form of slices and drops to complement her power.
She put it to full use again facing her best friend Badosa in a 77-minute win.
“I feel comfortable doing all those drop shots. I definitely have a good touch to go for drop shots. Even if it wouldn’t be a gameplan, on the court if I see that this is the time to go for it, I’m going to go for it,” said Sabalenka.
“Maybe not that much. Usually, I go on court and I have a game plan. If I need to adjust, I will.”
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