"First and last time in my life"- Aryna Sabalenka jokes about surprising Elina Svitolina with drop shots in Italian Open 4R victory

Aryna Sabalenka jokingly reacted to her use of the drop shot against Ukraine's Elina Svitolina in their round of 16 encounter at the ongoing Italian Open in Rome. The Belarusian emerged triumphant after the three-set battle went on late into the night.

Sabalenka has started dominating the WTA tour over the last two years. She made it to the semifinals at all four Grand Slams last year, winning the 2023 Australian Open by defeating Elena Rybakina in the final. She also came very close to winning the 2023 US Open but lost to Coco Gauff in three sets.

Sabalenka found her groove again this year and successfully defended her Melbourne Park title by defeating Zheng Qinwen. The Belarusian is known for the brute power that she employs in her shotmaking. Her power-packed baseline shots make it difficult for her opponents to keep up with her long rallies.

However, during her match against Svitolina, Sabalenka tried a different strategy to surprise her opponent. She extensively used drop shots to bring Svitolina to the net. For someone who is used to hitting the ball with power, Sabalenka exhibited considerable dexterity and finesse in executing her crafty-seeming plan as she went on to win the match.

Sabalenka jokingly alluded to her usual forceful style and said that this was perhaps the only time she would employ a drop-shot-dependent strategy in a match. Quoting a video that featured a few of her drop shots against Svitolina, she tweeted:

"Probably the first and the last time in my life 😂"

Sabalenka is slated to face Jelena Ostapenko in the quarterfinals after beating Svitolina 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(7).

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"It's still one of my dream tournaments" - Aryna Sabalenka on winning the Italian Open

Aryna Sabalenka recently expressed her desire to win the Italian Open, stating that winning the tournament was one of her dreams.

2023 French Open - Day Twelve

She stated that she loved playing in Rome as she loved the city and its ambiance.

"I love Rome. I love the city. I feel, I don't know, so comfortable being here. I enjoy walking around. I enjoy good food, great restaurants. I enjoy the atmosphere on the stadium. I don't know. Every time I was losing here, I was so sad. I felt like I lost on the Grand Slam because it was one of the dream tournaments for me to win. It's still one of my dream tournaments," said Aryna Sabalenka in an interview after her Round-of-32 match against Dayana Yastremska.

Sabalenka stated that the tournament in Rome and the prior clay-court tournaments she played offered exposure to different kinds of obstacles, enabling the Belarusian to be at an optimum playing level before the French Open.

"The conditions are so different. I'm not focusing on finding my best tennis, I'm focusing on adapt to the conditions as good as I can, just fight for every opportunity. I think Madrid was really great couple of weeks for me. I took lots of positive stuff from there. Here in Rome, I just want to keep building the level so by the time I come to Roland Garros, I'll feel my best, in my best form," added Sabalenka.

Sabalenka reached the semifinals at Roland Garros last year. Despite having a lead in the third set, she lost to Karolina Muchova in a tough three-setter.