Banter off court, business on it: Sabalenka opens Rome campaign with win

ROME -- As Aryna Sabalenka crosses the bridge between the Foro Italico's Court Centrale and the terrace where she is to handle her media requirements, she's sighted by fans below. There's a sudden flurry of excitement -- "Aryna! Aryna!" -- they call. The World No. 1 smiles, waves, poses and takes her own photo of the moment.

Not everyone is so happy to see her. As Sabalenka heads off the bridge, the first person she sees is Anastasia Potapova, whom she had defeated 6-2, 6-2 half an hour earlier to open her Internazionali BNL d'Italia campaign. Immediately, Potapova sticks a joking middle finger up at her vanquisher. Grinning, Sabalenka snaps a pic of this as well.

Rome: Draws | Scores | Order of play

"If she beat me, I would probably do the same," a laughing Sabalenka told reporters afterward. "She's a nice girl and we are good friends. I can understand how she's feeling right now. But there's no tension, it's just jokes."

All banter off court, Sabalenka had been all business on it as the Madrid champion extended her winning streak to seven matches. Having also been runner-up in Stuttgart last month to Jelena Ostapenko, her clay record this year is now 9-1. Though her main takeaway from the match had been how she had needed to adjust to "completely different" conditions in Rome, where the ball doesn't bounce as high as in Madrid, Sabalenka's performance had been a smooth one. She landed 70% of her first serves, won 80% of those points, and struck 18 winners.

"I had to figure out the court, and how I can use my game in the best way on this surface," the No. 1 seed. "This match was more like me trying to adjust to the surface."

The answer to that was a series of judiciously deployed drop shots -- a touch of finesse that's no longer a novelty in Sabalenka's power game, but a signature component of it.

In the next round, she'll face a player who's also known for skill on that shot -- No. 31 seed Sofia Kenin, who advanced 6-3, 6-0 past Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Sabalenka leads the head-to-head against the American 3-1, but that one loss came right here in Rome two years ago in the second round. That time, Sabalenka was also fresh off the Madrid title.

Déjà vu? If so, Sabalenka feels no trepidation about it.

"It's a good opportunity for a good revenge," she said firmly.