Aryna Sabalenka may be formidable, but even she gets tested at times. The World No.1, who has now won 13 of her last 14 matches at Melbourne Park, came into the third round of the Australian Open to face Anastasia Potapova. Despite holding a 2-0 lead in their head-to-head, she found herself in a real battle as the Austrian brought the heat to the court. Sabalenka had to lock in fast, channeling her focus and fight from the very start!

Sabalenka overcame multiple challenges against Potapova on Friday. After letting three set points slip at 6-5 in the opener, Sabalenka regrouped to take the tiebreak. Potapova fought back from 0-4 down in the second and held three set points in the tiebreak, but Sabalenka again held firm under pressure to close out the win, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (7). But the fight stayed with her till her post-match interview when emotions spilled over.

“She played incredible tennis,” Aryna Sabalenka admitted, “I was always on the back foot. To be honest there’s days when you have to be there and you have to fight and try your best to put the ball back on that side. I don’t know what was the key.”

“I think even though emotionally I was all over the place I was still able to fight for every point. Against Anastasia it’s something really important that you always focus, you’re always there, you’re always fighting. I’m super happy that I was able to get this win. It was such a fight. I really enjoyed it.”

This is a developing story…