After winning her second straight U.S. Open title, Aryna Sabalenka headed to her happy place, Greece, for some rest and recovery.
While she was there, she spent some quality time with another pretty good tennis player: 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic.
Along with fellow VIPs Georgios Frangulis and Jelena Djokovic, the four enjoyed dinner in Athens. Of course, they also played some tennis.
“He's really competitive and he's screaming,” said the world No.1. “But I won a lot of runs against him, a record. I hope he can confirm that. But, yes, we went to dinner. We practiced a few times. I hope I'm a good batting partner. So far, he's won in Shanghai. I think it's been a good match. I really hope he goes all the way. He's going to win the game and I'd say it's all my credit.
“But yeah, we had a fun time in Greece. I love them, him and Jelena. He's always willing to give me advice. We had a lot of fun.”
Djokovic won in Shanghai, and Sabalenka also won at the Dongfeng Voya Wuhan Open. In her first match since the U.S. Open, the world No. 1 improved to 18-0 with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 win over Rebecca Slamkova in Wuhan, where she has defended her title three times since 2018. (The event did not take place from 2020-23.)
Sabalenka arrived early for the match – one of the benefits of withdrawing from last week's China Open in Beijing – and prepared for the weather in Wuhan, which was extremely humid.
“To be honest, I thought this year's US Open would be very humid, but when I came here, I found that the US Open was not humid at all,” Sabalenka told reporters at the post-match press conference. “The humidity was too high and the conditions were extremely difficult. I was fully prepared in Greece, I came here for four or five days [early] Be prepared for these conditions. …I think I’m ready. “
Sabalenka will face 16th seed Lyudmila Samsonova in the round of 16.