Sabalenka reflects on the brief interruption against Kostyuk: "I had water in my eyes"
This Wednesday, Aryna Sabalenka had to fight hard to reach the semifinals of the WTA 1000 in Madrid. Against Marta Kostyuk, the Belarusian was forced to save four set points (one in the first set, three in the second) before finally winning in two tie-breaks (7-6, 7-6 in 2h30).
The match could have taken a different turn, but the encounter was interrupted for about ten minutes at 5-4 in favor of the Ukrainian in the second-set tiebreak before rain arrived on the court.
After the Belarusian missed her first serve, the world No. 1 asked the chair umpire to pause the match before taking her second serve.
Sabalenka then replayed the point with the opportunity to retake her first serve, which visibly frustrated Kostyuk, who believed play should have resumed where it had stopped. A few points later, Sabalenka secured the win and addressed the incident in her press conference.
"I tried to serve, but I realized I couldn't continue because I had water in my eyes. It was impossible. I knew if I kept going, I would definitely double-fault, and I didn’t want that. So I decided we had to stop. I’m glad I did," she explained.
Having secured her third consecutive semifinal in Madrid, Sabalenka will now play for a fourth final in five years in the Spanish capital this Thursday evening on the Manolo Santana Court against Elina Svitolina.
