Andrea Petkovic thinks Aryna Sabalenka may have wanted subtly to come out on top against the US Open crowd, and the 2014 French Open semifinalist loved watching it.
For the third year in a row, the world No. 1 made the title match at Flushing Meadows. After losing to Coco Gauff in 2023 and beating Jessica Pegula last year, the Belarusian faced Amanda Anisimova this time.
After winning the first set with a 6-3 scoreline, Sabalenka also opened a 5-3 second-set lead. But Anisimova refused to quit - got the crowd very engaged - and managed to win the next three games to go 6-5 up. However, the Belarusian tennis star remained unfazed as she served out the following game to force a tie-break, before dominating it to complete a 6-3 7-6 (3) win and lift her fourth Grand Slam title.
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Petkovic: Sabalenka was maybe like, 'You dare to doubt me? I will show you'
"Apart from a hiccup when serving for the match, it was a nearly perfect tennis performance. Seeing players excel under pressure is my favorite thing to witness in tennis and it annoys me that we sometimes tend to focus on those who succumb to it. Aryna did wonderfully and maybe, just maybe, there was a little bit of spite mixed into it, a little bit of: 'You dare to doubt me? I will show you!' And why not? Novak Djokovic has built an entire incredible career on that premise," Petkovic wrote on her Substack "Finite Jest."
If you can recall, Sabalenka was very frustrated with the US Open crowd and called them unfair after losing to Gauff in the 2023 final at Flushing Meadows. While the New York crowd rooted for Pegula and Anisimova in the last two US Open finals, the Belarusian felt they treated her with much more respect, and noted that she appreciated that.
