Aliaksandra Sasnovich

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It’s a First @USOpen Round 3 for @Ons_Jabeur After Comeback Win Against Sasnovich

Posted by Admin on August 29, 2019
Posted in: New York, US Open, WTA. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment
Ons Jabeur, 2019 US Open (Photo: Tennis Atlantic)

Ons Jabeur, 2019 US Open (Photo: Tennis Atlantic)

It’s a First @USOpen Round 3 for @Ons_Jabeur After Comeback Win Against Sasnovich
Steve Fogleman in Flushing Meadows

Ons Jabeur said that today is her birthday, even though yesterday was the official date. Jabeur was all smiles as she told press that she didn’t like yesterday, so she “changed” her birthday to today and promptly presented herself with a 25th birthday gift in the form of a Round 3 US Open appearance after a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Aliaksandra Sasnovich in New York.

“It’s amazing, I mean, I love it in here. I love a city that is busy, noisy, I love the City that doesn’t sleep. I love playing on these courts.”

Ons Jabeur, 2019 US Open (Photo: Tennis Atlantic)

Ons Jabeur, 2019 US Open (Photo: Tennis Atlantic)

I’m glad that I stayed focused and got the energy to move better in the second and third set and I’m happy to be in the third round.”

Though she appeared in the third round at Roland Garros in 2017, Jabeur said she’s a more mature player now. “I couldn’t realize how I made it to the third round with less experience than now. Now I feel like I know what I’m doing on the courts. I have a great team behind me now.”

Part of that team includes Karim Kammoun, her fitness coach and husband. He planted a very romantic courtside kiss on Jabeur after the win.

“It was a long day yesterday, so it was kind of tough to wake up this morning to get in good shape on the court,” she said. Sasnovich “has a tricky game, she doesn’t give you the same, so I had to adjust my movements,” she continued. “I tried to not play her game, hit, hit, like she likes. Of course, mixing is my specialty so I try to put more pressure on her, and not giving up any points. That helped me when I was down 15-40. It helped me win more games, especially in the second set.”

Ons Jabeur, 2019 US Open (Photo: Tennis Atlantic)

Ons Jabeur, 2019 US Open (Photo: Tennis Atlantic)


The Tunisian took up tennis at 3, and she reflected on her beginnings. “My mother (Samira) wanted to play tennis from a long time ago, and when she became a mom, I was the youngest one, and she took me with her to the club. I started to play a little bit with the small racket.”

“Her love for tennis gave me the opportunity to be here today,” she reflected. Mom’s not in NYC, but could be there on a moment’s notice but there’s one problem: she’s worried about being a jinx for her daughter since Ons has already won twice this week without her.

A more mature Jabeur faces #3 seed Karolina Pliskova in Round 3. The two have never met. An upset could be in the making.

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Aliaksandra Sasnovich: Fighting for a Grand Slam Title in New York and a Melting Pot in Minsk

Posted by Admin on August 30, 2018
Posted in: US Open, WTA. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Aliaksandra Sasnovich, 2018 US Open (Photo: Tennis Atlantic)

Aliaksandra Sasnovich wants you to know that reaching the third round of the US Open is not her biggest win yet. “I don’t think so,” the 24-year-old from Belarus said today after her match. “I have a lot of good matches. This is one of them but it’s not my biggest and I think my biggest is in front of me.” Sasnovich was speaking about her win over Daria Kasatkina of Russia, 6-2, 7-6(3) win on the Grandstand.

And it didn’t feel as easy as the score suggests. “It was 1:34 but it feels like we played three hours,” she said, “because a lot of points, a lot of you have to move, and Dasha’s a really good player. She’s 11 in the world.  It was difficult for my mentality so I’m really happy with this win. It was difficult conditions for both. Probably I want to win more today. ”

She credited a change in her style for causing havoc to Kasatkina today.

“I started not to play 2-3 shots, I started to play 5, 6, 7, 8 or more (shots),” she said. “I have to play, you know, not just ‘boom boom’. I have a good tactic against her because we’ve played a lot of matches and I know what I need to know.”

“My concentration was very good today.”

She won’t dwell on the victory for a minute.

“It feels really good, but I’m moving forward,” Sasnovich said. “I have the next match. #31 is not a goal for me, you know? I have to improve like all the players who want a better ranking. I improved some part of my game, for example to compare with last year and this year, I think I’m totally another player…better forehand, better serve. I think I’m a better player than last year. I don’t want to compare with someone else, I want to compare with myself.”

What is it about Belarus and three third rounders at the US Open?

“Of course, three girls top 32, so I’m really proud of the girls for our country, but I think after Fed Cup, when they played the finals, quarterfinals, and semifinals in Minsk, a lot of people were coming to see our match and some of them, they didn’t know what is tennis, and when they saw tennis in life, they’d probably seen it on TV, in life, it was good popularization and they took their child on the court and they wanted to play them professional. They want my country to be more improving in tennis, and they think we can have more good players.”

“I wish luck on all the other Belarusian players that we can go on to the next round for popularization of tennis in our country.”

Next up is Naomi Osaka, another tough ask for any player on the tour and one that can’t be forgotten for coming back from a 0-5 deficit in the second set.

“Yeah, it was a good match, it was good conditions (Tokyo 2016), I remember we played inside. It was very humid. I lost 6-3 the first set, and I was 5-0 up in the second set and I lost the set, but it was two years ago. It was so, so long time ago. She was different, I was different.”

And here’s a twist: She’s a fondue junkie who wants a Melting Pot in Minsk.

“I really love the Melting Pot, in America. Fondue. I want to open one and it’s no joke. I really wanted to open the fondue in my country, but it was a small secret. Now it’s not secret anymore. But I want to open the cheese fondue and chocolate fondue, with milk chocolate and white chocolate with strawberry, banana, fruits, some marshmallows.”

She’ll have a day to relax before preparing for Osaka. In the downtime, she’ll eat and be a tourist.

“So I really like to eat. Probably I will go to Central Park today or the Empire State Building. My coach will give me one or two hours. I will probably go to cinema to see a movie. To relax, to be out of the tennis for evening and night.”

She’s happy to hear that the scorching conditions are about to let up.

“It’s better for us, for all the players. because it’s better to play when it’s 25 or 26, degrees than when it’s 35. It feels like 41. So I’m happy for all the girls who are going to play in that condition.”

She’s one win away from tying her best grand slam result at Wimbledon this year. It’s been a pleasure to watch this player progress through the years and now I’ve got to take care of my Fondue craving as soon as I get out of Queens.

—Steve Fogleman, Tennis Atlantic

Osaka, Sabalenka Into Third Round of @USOpen; Kasatkina Upset by Sasnovich

Posted by Admin on August 30, 2018
Posted in: New York, US Open, WTA. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment


Early play at the US Open in New York on Thursday found one upset, as Aliaksandra Sasnovich, a perennial qualifier in Premier tournaments and slams, upset the Russian, 6-2, 7-6. For Sasnovich, whose high water mark was this year’s fourth round at Wimbledon, she will try to keep her US Open magic alive when she meets Naomi Osaka on Saturday.

Osaka was efficient in the morning heat, needing just 50 minutes on court to dismantle an injured Julia Glushko. In press, she talked about the fine line of deciding to go aggressive or play it safe with each shot.

“You win more if you play safe,” she said. “I would say it’s fun to take the chances when you’re feeling good, like, when you know it’s not 50/50, more like 70/30. So I sort of have to hold myself back on the days I don’t feel good. That’s a little bit hard for me.”

Aryna Sabalenka has been called out for dead–“hit the wall”–by the commentators on US Open Radio in both matches she’s played here. The first time was when she lost the second set to Danielle Collins and today they were at it again in the second set when the Belarusian made a couple of unforced errors. The commies were wrong both times. Sabalenka beat 2010 Flushing Meadows finalist Vera Zvonareva, 6-2, 7-6 to earn a date with Petra Kvitova, and probably her first distinguished court assignment.

It’s funny, because I thought this was going to be a tournament of upsets on the women’s side after Simona Halep went out in the first 90 minutes of the tournament on Monday. Since then, other than Kasatkina today and Muguruza last night, things are shaping up nicely with many marquee players into the weekend. Kerber’s currently in a battle with Johanna Larsson, but there’s plenty of stars left to produce a great second week of women’s tennis.