Aryna Sabalenka will have the chance to play in the US Open final for the second year in a row. To reach this milestone, the two-time Grand Slam champion defeated American Emma Navarro in straight sets, shattering the Flushing Meadows crowd’s dream of an all-American women’s singles final.
The Belarusian revealed at the press conference that she learned from the experience of playing against an American in the US Open final last year, explaining that even though the crowd was cheering for Emma, they couldn’t help her win the match unless Aryna herself let them into her head.
“They’re cheering for her, but how can they help her win the game? Only if I let them get into my head and only if I get lost, you know, go crazy. So, yeah, the tricky thing is the noise of how loud it can be in this stadium. Today wasn’t such a crazy day, actually. They were loud, but during the point they were respectful and relaxed, you know.
Last year they were just super loud, even during the point. It was so loud, so it was blocking my ears, so it was, like, a lot of pressure. I think the mistake was that I was focusing on myself, but I didn’t think that she was actually on the same court, that she was hearing the same noise as the crowd and that we were all in the same situation,” she…
