“I think the level is so good, it’s so, so high now and everybody is so much younger than me and I sometimes doubt myself or think maybe I’m not good enough to continue,” she said. “They serve so good and they’re so tall,” she added, naming Sabalenka in the cohort of players that are setting the bar in women’s tennis.
“She hits the ball so well, so powerful – not many girls [are] able to do that,” she said.
Perhaps not many, but Pavlyuchenkova knows at least one who can hang with the world No.1. “I also hit the ball hard,” she laughed, admitting that a key to Tuesday’s clash will be looking after her own serve.
To be sure, Sabalenka is in ominous form. The two-time defending champion dropped a mere three games against Andreeva, the 14th seed, and won 78 per cent of first serve points, clocking her fastest serve so far this week at 190 km/h, just 4 km/h behind tournament leader Coco Gauff.
The 26-year-old fended off the only three break points she faced to hold for 4-2 in the second set and from there, conceded just two points to her younger rival before racing to the finish line.
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“It’s always tough matches against Mirra, she’s so young but so mature and playing such great tennis,” she said, having extended her head-to-head record over the 17-year-old to 4-1. “I’m super happy, of course, to get through this difficult match in straight sets.”
The victory marks her 18th straight win at Rod Laver Arena, matching the longest winning streak by a women’s singles player on the iconic court since Martina Hingis defeated Monica Seles in the AO 1999 semifinals.
READ: At Rod Laver, Aryna Sabalenka surpasses Steffi Graf
Sabalenka, who hasn’t lost a set this fortnight, took a beat to adjust to the livelier court amid the warm conditions, and then quickly embraced it. “I was just trying to put the ball back, and the ball was flying like a rocket,” she said. “I hope it’s going to be the same ‘til the end of the tournament and it’s going to help me the same way.”
The three-time major champion’s growing fan base has been rocking tiger-themed apparel at Melbourne Park, inspired by their heroine’s tattoo and shoelaces, and Sabalenka said she’s grateful to be in a position to be a role model to others.
