The Russian teen arrived for her match with Sabalenka unbeaten. She was coming off with big wins against the likes of Leylah Fernandez. By reaching the fourth round, she had also made history as being the youngest player to reach the quarterfinals of a WTA 1000 event.
“It was a great match. I’m really happy with the result,” Sabalenka said.
“In the first few games, I was just trying to adjust to her game and her rhythm. After that, I started feeling my game a little bit better and started playing better.”
Sabalenka will next go up against Mayar Sherif, another notable record-setter for being the first woman to reach a WTA 1000 event quarterfinals.
“It means a lot, just mentally, to be able to know that I can do this, that I can compete at the highest level in tennis,” said Sherif.
“It gives me a lot of motivation to keep improving, to keep working on the things that I need to work on, and to obviously take that confidence for the rest of the year.”
Despite the loss, Andreeva captured the heart of fans with her confidence in her skills and enthusiasm. She had earlier expressed her excitement for sharing lockers with some of the top tennis players in the world, including Andy Murray.
The loss against the World Number 2 player is a learning experience for the junior as it shows her what it is really like to go up against a high-caliber tennis player.
Sabalenka was her usual consistent self on the court. She was focused and showed off her powerful playing style, which has always made her a very dangerous opponent.