MUTUA MADRID OPEN

May 6, 2023

Aryna Sabalenka

Press Conference

A. SABALENKA/I. Swiatek

6-3, 3-6, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations. A win over the World No. 1 and this very heavy trophy. How are you feeling right now?

ARYNA SABALENKA: Yeah, of course I'm super happy. Yeah, it was great match, super tough battle. Yeah, just super happy right now with this title (smiling).

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. We still remember the final with Ashleigh Barty, but tonight it was really too much, the returns, the intensity.

ARYNA SABALENKA: Yeah, it was really intense. It's always, as I said, it's always tough battles against Iga. She always push me to the limits. I really enjoying our battles. Hopefully we can play many more finals this season.

Q. Congratulations, Aryna. I'm not going to ask you about the match. I want to know what's your opinion on the new format of the tournament with two weeks, more players?

ARYNA SABALENKA: Yeah, I love it. I actually love it, because you have an extra day off. Not day off. Of course we are practicing this day, but still we are able to see the city and we are able to go for a good dinner. So it's really good to have like an extra day for the recovery.

Q. How satisfied are you about when she came back from that 3-Love to 3-All, you talked a lot about remaining calm, was it easy in that moment? How happy are you with how you managed to do it?

ARYNA SABALENKA: Yeah, I mean, it wasn't easy at all, but I kind of expect something like that from Iga that she's gonna fight for the last point, that she's gonna try everything she can to win this match.

I wasn't really crazy about that, but it was really not easy moment for me. Super happy how I was able to, how I was able to mentally handle this situation and to keep fighting and keep trying and not getting like really crazy about that situation.

Q. Congratulations. When you first played Iga for the first time a few years ago and then early last season as well, it seemed like you would get very amped up to play her and really wanted to beat her. Seems like the last few times it's been a lot calmer. How much do you associate that with obviously your change on your side but also kind of the respect that you have for her in terms of what the level is that you have to bring to beat her compared to like a year ago?

ARYNA SABALENKA: Yeah, no, I definitely respect her a lot. She's a great player, and what she did last season and what she's keep doing, it's really motivate me a lot to improve, to keep working hard, to, yeah, to keep fighting.

Yeah, I know that it's always battles against her. It's always really great matches.

Yeah, of course I respect her a lot. I would say that like this year matches is completely different matches than it was last year. I improved a lot, and I really want to win against her, because she's such a great player.

To have this win, especially on clay, that's something unbelievable. I really happy that I'm able to fight against her and I'm able to get these wins so it's not like so super boring for people to watch our matches. (Laughter.)

Q. You said the other day that the plan was to be more patient compared to Stuttgart. How much did you respect this plan today?

ARYNA SABALENKA: Yeah, I stick to the plan, and I think that was the key today, that I didn't over-rush things and I was waiting for a better shot to go for powerful shots. Yeah, I was stick to the plan from the beginning till the end.

Q. There were some Australian Open final vibes for me today. I was looking at a couple of comparisons. Australia was 2 hours, 28 minutes. Today was 2:26. I'm sure you weren't aware of that. But four championship points, does that sound familiar? Were you thinking of it during that last game?

ARYNA SABALENKA: Actually, yes, I was thinking when I was down with the break in the last game, I was thinking, okay, I did it at the Australian Open, so probably I will be able to get this win this time again. It's actually help me to stay focused and to have this belief in myself.

Yeah, definitely this match reminds a lot of Australian Open match (smiling).

Q. You mentioned earlier this week that you love playing on clay now. Can you talk about your journey on the surface? At what point you realized that you actually like it?

ARYNA SABALENKA: Yeah, I really enjoy playing on clay, because I have extra time. It's not super fast, so I can go for my powerful shots, because I have not so many but I have a lot of time here.

Yeah, that's why I really enjoy clay, because it's longer rallies. It's like not just bomb, bomb, you know. You have to work for every point, and that's really amazing.

Q. Was there a moment when that clicked for you that you could play this well on clay?

ARYNA SABALENKA: Yeah, I think last year, or actually 2021 when I first made the Stuttgart final, I thought, oh, probably clay court actually suits my game (smiling).

Q. Physically at times in the third set it seemed like you were being pushed from side to side. Sometimes you won the point; sometimes you didn't. I just wonder how you felt. Did you feel as though you could have gone to a tiebreak if it was that way inclined, or were you starting to feel it or were you feeling fine?

ARYNA SABALENKA: I was feeling fine. I was working really hard in my fitness, so I'm able to play these long rallies and play these long matches and not getting really tired.

So I was feeling fine. I was ready for whatever I should play today.

Q. On facing Iga, No. 1 versus No. 2 frequently, what do you think from your opinion is the benefit of that, not just for you and maybe Iga personally, coming up against each other all the time, but fans were excited about the match today, a three-setter, exciting, all that sort of stuff, what is your belief as to what impact it has on the game?

ARYNA SABALENKA: Well, I think that's something amazing. I think women's tennis need this kind of consistency to see world No. 1 and world No. 2 facing in the finals.

Yeah, I think it's, how to say, it's more enjoyable for fans to watch and it's more intense. I'm not saying that it's not intense with the rest of the players anyway. If a player reach the final, it means that he's in a good shape and it's going to be tough. But I think when people see these kind of finals, it makes them want to see it, you know, like want to see this battle. That's something amazing, and hopefully we can keep doing what we are doing this season.