Aryna Sabalenka isn’t exactly threatening Ons Jabeur’s mantle as the WTA’s drop-shot queen yet, but the world No.1 has ambitions to close that gap.
It is an element the Brisbane International’s top seed is making a concerted effort to add to her typically powerful all-court game to keep her nose ahead of the pack in 2025.
Even after she conceded just four games against Mexican Renata Zarazua on Tuesday, she flagged it as an area she needed to fine-tune ahead of her third-round clash against speedy dynamo, Yulia Putintseva.
“I will definitely improve my drop shots. Didn’t really work well [against Zarazua],” she said. “Hopefully in the next one it’s going to be better. But overall, yeah, I think [the second set] was a perfect set. Nothing to be complaining about. I hope I can really stay the same throughout the year or even better.”
A winning start for the world No.1!@SabalenkaA sabalenka is off and running Down Under. She defeats Renata Zarazua 6-4 6-0.#BrisbaneTennis pic.twitter.com/CU1o6UgaY1
— Brisbane International (@BrisbaneTennis) December 31, 2024
In the final night match at Pat Rafter Arena on Thursday Sabalenka faces the Kazakhstani 15th seed, a player whom she has split two previous meetings including a three-set win en route to the Wuhan WTA 1000 title last year.
“We played in Wuhan. She’s going to run around. She’s going to put so many balls back,” Sabalenka said. “She’s going to make me move. It’s going to be a lot of long rallies. I’m ready for a really high-level match. Excited to play against her again.”
Top seed Novak Djokovic made an impressive start to his Brisbane campaign when he beat Australian wildcard Rinky Hijikata in straight sets in his first singles match since he fell to Jannik Sinner in the Shanghai Masters final in October.
> READ MORE: Djokovic hails move to team up with Murray and Kyrgios
The Serbian could inch closer to his 100th career singles title and in the process extend a tour-record unbeaten head-to-head against Frenchman Gael Monfils in the first match at PRA on Thursday night.
The 37-year-old Djokovic has never lost to Monfils in 19 prior encounters.
“Expecting for that streak to go on, unbeaten streak against Gael,” he grinned. “We saw each other in the locker-room after our matches today, and we had a talk about it. It’s awesome … He was always one of the best athletes that we have on the tour.
“Flexibility, agility, speed, you know, strength, it’s just exceptional with him. He’s a super guy. You know, we have known each other since the junior days and played many matches against each other. I look forward to it.”
> VIEW: Day 5 Brisbane International schedule
Seventeen years Monfils’ junior, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard represents one of the faces of the future for French tennis and a frightening prospect for his opponents.
The 2.03m world No.31 thumped 36 aces – most more than 200km/h – to end Nick Kyrgios’ singles comeback over three tiebreak sets at the first hurdle on Tuesday.
On Thursday, he meets fourth seed Frances Tiafoe in the third match at PRA, a player he beat at the Paris Masters in November.
Tiafoe turned his season around during last year’s US hard-court swing when he reached the Cincinnati Masters final and his second US Open semifinal.
BIGGEST WIN OF HER CAREER
Give it up for Queensland local @kimbirrell98 #BrisbaneTennis pic.twitter.com/dh3gbi9i7Q
— Brisbane International (@BrisbaneTennis) January 1, 2025
Home hope Kimberly Birrell is determined to ride the wave further after notching her first top-10 win in six years over US second seed Emma Navarro on Wednesday.
The Gold Coaster trains at the Queensland Tennis Centre and hopes to draw on huge crowd support when she opens play again at PRA, this time against Anastasia Potapova for her first WTA 500 quarterfinal. Potapova brought down last year’s Australian Open semifinalist Dayana Yastremska in the second round.
Third seed Daria Kasatkina dug deep to hold off American Peyton Stearns in a near-three-and-a-half-hour clash on Tuesday to set a first meeting with qualifier Polina Kudermetova.
The pair squares off in the second match at PRA on Thursday where Kudermetova – the younger sister of former world No.9 Veronika Kudermetova – bids for her maiden top-10 win.