I’m Ready to Fight: Sabalenka

“I know how to play on clay and it’s all about being physically and mentally healthy and going for it and being ready to fight,” he said at media day ahead of the start of the tournament on Sunday.

Sabalenka, the top-ranked woman for nearly two years, has won just three titles on clay, all in Madrid. Her best clay-court Grand Slam performance was last year, when she lost to Coco Gauff in the final in three sets.

“All I can say is that I am ready to fight and of course I hope to be a little better than last year,” said the Belarusian player, who turned 28 in May.

Earlier this spring, Sabalenka completed the ‘sunshine double’ with victories on hard courts in Indian Wells and Miami before losing momentum on clay.

She lost to Hailey Baptiste in the quarterfinals in Madrid. He won only one match before falling to Sorana Cirstea in Rome. “To be honest, I struggled physically at the beginning of the clay season,” he said Friday. “I feel 100 percent right now.

“Every part of me is healed and I’m ready to go.” When asked if she would be satisfied if she didn’t win, Sabalenka’s answer showed the No. 1 mentality.

I think we’re all here for one reason.” Sabalenka said her increased consistency is not just a result of her physical health, but also of overcoming her tendency to mentally melt down when things don’t go her way on the field.

“My emotions were ruining my game and my level would drop dramatically when I started overreacting to everything,” he said.

“At the same time, my opponents would see that and step in and play better.” Controlling your emotions has two clear benefits, he said. “First of all, making sure that my opponent doesn’t see what’s going on in my head, but also performing better and staying in the zone, like that was a huge improvement in my career over the years and really helped me level up,” he explained.

He added that working on his own game will prepare him to better handle what opponents throw at him. “I mostly focus on myself and making sure I have all the tools I need to play against all the players,” he said.

“Focusing on myself has really helped me adapt to each player. I focus on myself and make sure I’m good at any shot selection I might need in the match.” Sabalenka will face Spanish Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in the first round at Roland Garros.