Remember how American star Coco Gauff battled the French crowd that was moving like an unstoppable force behind local talent and French Open sensation Lois Boisson last month? As intimidating as it was playing in front of fans cheering for the giant killer (who had taken down Jessica Pegula and Mirra Andreeva), Gauff had a strategy to overcome this hurdle. “When you were chanting her name, I was saying to myself, my name!” Simple. Well, seems like World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka may have channelized a similar tactic on Friday while battling British talent Emma Raducanu and her home fans on Centre Court at Wimbledon.

The third round encounter at the All England Club was as expected, intense for the three-time slam queen. In the first set, she had to work harder and eventually took it in a tiebreaker. But in the second, she didn’t take much time to get a fourth-round ticket after besting Raducanu with a score line of 7-6(6), 6-4. And all throughout, she had to face the overwhelming fans of Raducanu, who were constantly screaming her name to boost her confidence. So, how did Sabalenka deal with that?

During the press conference, Sabalenka simply revealed, “The atmosphere, sometimes my ears were like really blocked from how loud it was.” But then she found out the biggest strategy to counter it. “But I really enjoyed. And I was like, I was trying to trick my brain and I was pretending that people were cheering for me. And sometimes when they were screaming Emma, it sounded like Aryna or so. I don’t know why. But yeah I think that’s why I wasn’t getting really annoyed by that you know.” What also helped her situation was that even though the crowd at Centre Court did their best to get behind their local hero, they knew where to draw the line.

“I mean I played enough in the in the States against American and there it’s like super crazy and honestly I’m super grateful that people were respectful and really polite during the points and even though they were cheering her for her between the points during the point, I was able to focus and they were really polite once again,” the World No. 1 said during the same press conference. Not too long ago, in the 2023 US Open final against Gauff, Sabalenka, with the 1st set in her bag, allowed the crowd to get to her, and the American to mount a comeback. It was a lesson well-learned. When she returned to the Arthur Ashe Stadium for the final again the following year, she walked out with the Grand Slam trophy after besting American Jessica Pegula.

But will the three-time slam champion manage to win her first major title of this season? She’s missed out on two occasions, in Melbourne and then Paris. However, it seems the Belarusian is determined to end her drought at the grass court major, and there’s hardly anything that can stop her invincible campaign. Not even the Royal Box!

Aryna Sabalenka fully focused at Wimbledon

When you spot a renowned celebrity in the stands, watching your game live, you can’t help but get starstruck. Unless you are Aryna Sabalenka. Guess who was present to witness her in action recently at the grass major?

During her second-round battle against Marie Bouzkova, A-listers like singer Olivia Rodrigo, wrestler John Cena, and Foo Fighters musician Dave Grohl graced the Royal Box, their eyes glued to the court where Sabalenka was trying to battle it out against Bouzkova. And guess what? She didn’t even take a glimpse of the stars. Why? “I was trying not to look today,” reported WTA’s website earlier this week. “I’m really glad that I wasn’t looking there, I would be like this the whole match.”

She was just “trying to focus on my game. Later on I’m going to open the social media, be, ‘OK, who was there?'” Well, her approach did yield fruitful results. She eventually beat Bouzkova in straight sets with a score line of 7-6(5), 6-4 and moved ahead. Sabalenka’s trying to keep this approach intact until she accomplishes her Wimbledon dream. The World No.1 is hungry to win a slam this year. Interestingly, her past record at the All England Club gives her an edge, too. In recent editions (2021 and 2023), she’s managed to enter the semis.

This time, she would like to do one better and lift the Ladies’ singles trophy. Do you think she can really do it? What are your thoughts on her Wimbledon prospects? Let us know in the comments below. Also, don’t forget to get all the action from the Championships live and uninterrupted on EssentiallySports.