{"id":361511,"date":"2024-01-21T03:19:03","date_gmt":"2024-01-21T04:19:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=361511"},"modified":"2024-01-21T06:02:41","modified_gmt":"2024-01-21T06:02:41","slug":"unstoppable-champs-weird-pre-match-routine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=361511","title":{"rendered":"Unstoppable champ's 'weird' pre-match routine"},"content":{"rendered":"

A\ufeffryna Sabalenka<\/a> is through to the quarter-finals of the Australian Open<\/a>, cruising past qualifier Amanda Anisimova in straight-sets and revealing an interesting pre-match tactic that is working wonders.<\/p>\n

The reigning champion was at her dominant best on Margaret Court Arena, proving far too strong for her opponent on serve and breaking Anisimova multiple times on her way to a 6-3, 6-2 victory.<\/p>\n

The 25-year-old had previously brushed past Lesia Tsurenko, Ella Seidel and Brenda Fruhvirtova earlier in the grand slam and continued that type of brutality at Melbourne Park on Sunday.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> The 'dangerous' stars flipping tennis on its head<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Why Djokovic photo means so much to Medvedev<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

READ MORE: \ufeff<\/strong>Panthers superstar reacts to Luai exit<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

After the win, Sabalenka was quizzed on a new pre-match \ufeffroutine during her on-court interview, which entails her signing the head of one of her trainers, admitting it has become a superstition.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

"We just like to do weird shit guys," she said on Nine's coverage.<\/p>\n

"I just did it before the first match and after I won … I guess it's a routine now. He's not happy with that, but he understands."<\/p>\n

Watch the 2024 Australian Open live and exclusive on Nine,<\/strong><\/em> 9Now<\/strong><\/em><\/a> and ad-free on<\/strong><\/em> Stan Sport<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Sabalenka is yet to drop a set across four matches at Melbourne Park and after the surprise exit of top seed Iga Swiatek, could be on her way towards back-to-back titles.\ufeff<\/p>\n

She praised her opponent in Anisimova, as well as thanking the crowd for their ongoing support throughout the tournament.<\/p>\n

\"Australian<\/p>\n

"I'm super happy with the level [I played at] and happy to get this win," she said.<\/p>\n

"I just tried to stay focused. She's a super opponent and I'm happy to see her back on tour. I wish her all the best.<\/p>\n

"Thank you so much for the atmosphere – I love it, oh my god. I love playing in front of you and I really want to stay here as long as I can and hopefully stay here to the last day."<\/p>\n

Sabalenka's quarter-final opponent is yet to be confirmed, but the popular world No.2 will be back in action on Tuesday. \ufeff<\/p>\n

Earlier in the day, Coco Gauff also advanced in straight-sets, with the American teenage superstar looming as a genuine threat to Sabalenka's title. \ufeff<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A\ufeffryna Sabalenka is through to the quarter-finals of the Australian Open, cruising past qualifier Amanda Anisimova in straight-sets and revealing an interesting pre-match tactic that […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":361513,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361511"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=361511"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361511\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":361516,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361511\/revisions\/361516"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/361513"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=361511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=361511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=361511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}