Tennis - US Open 2024 - Aryna Sabalenka : "It has always been my goal to put my family name in tennis history after losing my father"
Aryna Sabalenka est la nouvelle reine de New York ! 19 jours après leur finale à Cincinnati, la Biélorusse a retrouvé Jessica Pegula au même stade de la compétition à l'US Open. Bousculée par l'Américaine, Sabalenka s'est imposée après deux sets serrés 7-5, 7-5, en 1h54. À 26 ans, elle a décroché son 17e titre en carrière, le 3e en Grand Chelem après l'Open d'Australie 2023 et 2024. Battue en finale l'an passé par Coco Gauff, elle met enfin ses mains sur ce prestigieux trophée tant convoité. Un sacre qui conforte sa 2e place mondiale, et qui la maintient dans le rétroviseur de la reine Iga Swiatek, à 1169 points de la Polonaise.
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00:00Well, yeah, it was a very, very difficult match. She played really incredible tennis
00:09and honestly, after me leading 3-0, I didn't really expect her to come back with such a
00:15high level and I'm really glad that I was able to hold my serve on that 5-3 down and
00:23then to bring her back, it gave me so much belief that I can close this match in two
00:28sets, so very difficult, very difficult match and super happy with the win.
00:33Thank you. Name and affiliation, one question each. Barbara?
00:37Congratulations, Irina. In the second set, can you talk a little bit more? She wins five
00:42straight games. I mean, how do you stay mentally strong and what were you thinking at that
00:47time?
00:48Yeah, I mean, that was really incredible tennis from her and I mean, I had my opportunities
00:54in 3-1, I was serving and then I had a break point in 3-0 but she come up with winners
01:01with really aggressive tennis and it felt like one second and it's 3-5 and I'm serving
01:08and I was like, oh, wow, that's crazy level from her and in that moment, I just told myself,
01:14okay, just try to hold yourself, serve. I was getting ready for the third set, you know,
01:21at least you'll be confident on your serve in the third set and then I hold myself and
01:30I put so much pressure on her on that serving game at 5-4 and I'm really glad I was able
01:38to bring her back.
01:39Charlie?
01:40Congratulations, Irina. Charlie Eccles, Sheffield Athletic. You're still going to be the world
01:46number two but you're the holder of two Grand Slam titles. How much does it bother you not
01:51being world number one and how much is it just about winning these biggest titles?
01:55I mean, I'm not trying to focus on ranking, to be honest. It's not like I'm, you know,
01:59checking where I'm going to be after the tournament and I'm just trying to focus on myself and
02:06I know that if on each tournament, I'll be able to play my best tennis and I'll be able
02:11to bring this fight spirit and on each game, I'll be able to become world number one again.
02:18So my focus is on myself, on improving myself as a player and as a person and yeah, hopefully
02:25one day I'll see myself on the top of the ranking.
02:28Richard?
02:29Congrats on the title. It's your third now and I just wondered how much you think about
02:34your place in the history of this sport.
02:38Well, you know, after I lost my father, it's always been my goal to put our family name
02:43in the history of tennis and every time I see my name on that trophy, I'm so proud of
02:53myself and proud of my family that they never gave up on my dream and that they were doing
02:59everything they could to keep me going and so I had this opportunity in life. So it really
03:09means a lot and yeah, it's just, it's been always my dream and I still kind of like cannot
03:15believe that I was able to achieve. Like me with my team, we were able to achieve so much
03:20already.
03:21Irina, from the outside, it looks like you're taking big risks on the biggest points just
03:27from the public perspective. Is that the way you see it and how do you describe your mentality
03:32on those big points?
03:33I mean, I know that I have to go for it. That's the only way it works for me because every
03:40time I'm trying to play safer and play, you know, like be aware of these key moments and
03:46every time I stop my arms and the ball flies like in the stand. So I just a long time ago
03:51I decided for myself that on those important moments, I just have to go for it. I have
03:54to swing and if I'm going to like swing till the end without stopping my arms, I know that
04:02the ball going to go in. So that's, you know, like that's the only option for me.
04:08Howard.
04:09Hi Irina. There were tense moments there at the end of each set. I'm wondering how much
04:19if at all did your mind go back to last year's final here or the semifinal the year before?
04:30And if you were at all thinking about that, what was it that you were telling yourself?
04:36Honestly, I thought that I will be thinking a lot about previous years here because I
04:42had a lot of tough lessons here at the US Open. Very difficult one, I would say, especially
04:48the last year. But honestly, today I was just keep reminding myself that this is the US
04:52Open final, of course, is going to fight really hard for it and it's not going to be easy
04:57and I have to work really hard to get it. And in those tough moments, I was just, you
05:03know, like trying to stay strong and trying to remind myself that I've been through a
05:06lot and I'm strong enough to hold under this pressure. So I'm actually really glad that
05:16I didn't have any feedbacks in the last year.
05:19Irina, congratulations. You've talked, you've been open about how this year there's been
05:26a difficult stretch with injury and heartbreaking personal loss. Can you discuss why winning
05:31this title this year is particularly sweet and important to you?
05:36Well, yeah, I faced a lot of challenges on and off the court and the difficult one was
05:43also like being injured and not able to play Wimbledon. And it was a new experience for
05:48me and it's also a very special place here, the US Open. And I also had a lot of tough
05:56losses in the past and I was always hoping that one day I'll be able to hold this beautiful
06:02trophy. It's been always my dream and that's why it's very special because no matter what,
06:08every time I was coming back stronger and I was learning, I never gave up on this dream.
06:15And yeah, that's, you know, it means a lot.
06:19Irina, David King from tennis.com. Congratulations and happy Bratz summer to you. I was just
06:24curious what your reaction was to seeing Jason's tiger tattoo on his head. I'm hoping it's
06:28temporary, but maybe you can get it.
06:32No, it's permanent. No, but honestly, I forgot about that. But I think in Washington, there
06:39is one girl, she's my fan. She's supporting me and she always comes up with some cool
06:46stuff related to my name. And she brought this temporary tattoos. And Jason promised
06:56me that if I make it to the finals, he's going to make it. He's going to put it on his forehead.
07:04I wish it would be a little bit lower, like right here. It would be cooler, right? And
07:10I forgot about that. And today we had lunch, dinner before the match and he was like, hey.
07:17And he showed me that. I was like, OK, come on, we're going to make it. And then not the
07:21whole team, but half of the team, they also had like a little tiger here on the arm. And
07:27yeah, my friends had like also kind of like the same spot. So that was cool. Right. We
07:33just we always come up with something new. It was signature. Now it's like a tiger tattoo.
07:40I'm really curious what's going to be next, Jason. Maybe like you're going to. I was about
07:45to say color his hair. Maybe I'm going to come up with some fun stuff, right?
07:55Like pink or or purple hair. Why not?
08:03Victoria Kiesa, USOpen.org. You talked a little bit about how you've sort of improved yourself
08:07with slices, drop shots, variety. You executed some of those kind of shots today at key moments.
08:14Do you feel now that you're sort of confident in that plan B or things that are not always,
08:20you know, when you hit the ball hard and hit winners from everywhere?
08:25Well, it's really it's really good to have these options in your in your in your pocket,
08:31you know, like when you feel like, OK, sometimes you don't feel your best on the baseline and you
08:37can just go for a slice or a drop shot or like come to the net. I mean, I've been always working
08:42on this variation on the court and I'm really glad that I'm brave enough to use these tools
08:48in those key moments. So I think that's really important to always improving yourself. And
08:55like I felt I put even more pressure on the opponents when they when they see that I'm not
09:00only like a hard hitter, I can also play with some touch. So I will always work on that on
09:09that assets of my game and we will continue. And hopefully one day we're going to see me
09:14serve in Wally. I'm not sure I'm brave enough to do that, but
09:19but maybe once once I will I will come up with this with this plan C.
09:26Hopefully I will never need it, but whatever, whatever it takes, you know.
09:30Bill, last question.
09:32Congrats. In sports, elite athletes have the joy, the privilege to just sort of
09:40experience that that moment of victory. And it was extraordinary when you fell on your back and
09:47you finally had it. What flashed through your mind? What was that experience like?
09:53Yeah, I would definitely say that this is kind of like the best moments.
09:58One second. Hello. Yeah, I would definitely say that this is, you know, like it was the best
10:04moment, one of the best moments. And like so many things was going through my mind. The first one
10:10was that all those tough losses in the past. And and I was just like so proud of myself and proud
10:17of my team that no matter what, we were able to come back stronger and come back with the better
10:22tennis. And and now finally, we're having this beautiful trophy. And yeah, I mean, I don't know.
10:29I don't know how to describe that feeling. It's like you're crying, you're laughing. You're just
10:33you're just you know, you feel all these emotions at the same time. And that's the best feeling.
10:43And I really wish everyone could or can experience that.
10:49Thank you. Thank you, everyone. If you could just hold your seats for one second.
10:54I believe we have a second presentation.
10:57Marina, you go down here with me. Yeah. Yes. Special moment. Special moment for a special
11:02person. Yes. So for those that have been with us before, you know, we have a tradition
11:08where the champion awards the U.S. Open champions to their coach.
11:12So my friend, this is for you. Come here, don't be shy.
11:29All right, so let's have your trophy. But you know, mine is cooler.
11:43It's actually a little sad, you know, guys.
11:48It's like a team work, but this one's cool. It's a beautiful travel.
11:55Thank you for that. Very practical.
12:00Both, actually. No, I cannot. Actually, you're going to get you're going to get your keeper
12:06trophy. That is next, I think. Tiffany is waiting. It's already ingrained.
12:11So you won't be able to drink on your own.
12:17And then we're going to mow it and shut down.
12:26But, yeah, thank you, everyone. Thank you. Thank you, everyone.