Aryna Sabalenka said she had plunged into a “deep dark hole” during her three-sets defeat to Russian Diana Shnaider in the quarter-final of the French Open on Wednesday where opportunities slipped away from world number one.
He took the first set in windy conditions, made a strong start to gain control of the second and led by 5-3 before Shnaider began her fightback and won ten games on final score 3-6 7-5 6–0.
The four-times Grand Slam champion aimed to regain her mental strength in the coming weeks, after being devoid of thoughts or emotions and wanting to “retire from tennis immediately” following the loss.
“It was, like, quite a good chance in the second set,” Sabalenka told reporters.
I had a bad error, and she came in—and she’s been fantastic. Even mentally after the second set I felt like I really couldn’t come back. That was a really terrible mistake to make.
The last time I lost 10 in a row, I don’t know if ever… But mentally it was really tough going down there and playing like that. Once you start losing games your mind can find a very deep dark hole over there (in Tampa) and just couldn’t get back.”
Sabalenka saw both players constantly blowing the red dirt into their face from time to time as a major issue and why wind control was an overall but specific problem for herself, especially when Court Philippe Chatrier’s roof remained open.
Last year’s runner-up Sabalenka said: “I don’t know [why] they keep the roof open, like crazy wind.
But how do I complain if for almost the entire match everything was going well for me and then it slipped away. It was like it became wild maybe just because to be fair mentally I really wasn’t okay.
It was ugly tennis even though I knew it came out the other end.” I don’t know how people actually could just sit and watch me play. Then at, like, some point she came in and f—king plays unbelievable for those conditions.
Sabalenka has won all of her Grand Slam titles on hardcourts and needed to figure out the secret sauce for clay and grass.
“I really feel great on clay. I feel great on grass. I don’t know, maybe, I am overthinking the fact that I’ve never won a slam on each surface and maybe then it’s making me stop think too much or more emotionally in some moments.
“This is something I have to take a break from and attempt to resolve, as I’m just so fed up of losing games not in the right manner because of being too emotive.”
You non-training – you try to down train very slow so Sabalenka said she was going quick not get “to start because even though a bad spoke from Tarpischev, but ultimately and tried again find & finally (as) how stronger”experience’ out come SETBACK.””
And I said, “I figured out how to get through this,” she says with a smile.
It is kind of like one of those rooms where you walk in and hit everything with a stick? I will likely be there all day tomorrow smashing things to bits. Maybe it’ll help, maybe not.”