Secret weapon
When Aliaksandra Sasnovich heard she would be playing two-time winner Petra Kvitova in the first round, she went straight to work.
“I just go on court and I practised,” the world No.50 told a small group of reporters after stunning the Czech title favourite 6-4, 4-6, 6-0.
“I knew what I needed to do on the court, and I just went for the win,” the Belarusian said. “To play my tennis, and to win.”
Sasnovich prepared for her first career match against Kvitova for four days, training with a British sparring partner called Mike.
“I practised with a lefty hitting partner, I want to say thanks to Mike,” said Sasnovich, before adding: “I don’t know his last name.”
Sasnovich credited her new coach, Alex Leniuchev, with boosting her confidence this season.
“He really helped me to improve my mentality,” she said. “I want to improve and improve, because I think I have a good potential.”
“I am happy,” she said. “I am in a good mood, and he gave me positive energy. It’s most important to be positive, not negative.”
Despite first round losses on the grass courts of ‘s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands, and Mallorca, Spain, Sasnovich always believed she had a shot against Kvitova.
“I played against the two-time champion, and I just go on the court and I showed all my tennis, all my mental preparation, all my concentration, I gave everything on court,” she said.
I was dark horse...I just go on the court and I showed all my tennis, all my mental preparation, all my concentration, I gave everything on court
“Probably, I was dark horse,” she said. “You never know what I will do, she played with me first time, she is two-time champion here so she wanted to win of course. And my game probably was not comfortable to her, because I returned good, slice and she needed to work on each ball.”
The key to beating Kvitova, the most in-form player of the season with a Tour-leading five tournament victories, was to return well.
“If you are not returning good, you have no chances because she started to serve even better and better,” Sasnovich said. “You have to serve with your serve the first ball to her backhand because on her forehand when you serve, no chances, so fast.”
Her second round opponent is another lefty, the American Taylor Townsend, with whom Sasnovich has some unfinished business.
Everyone can beat everyone
“I played doubles against her in the US Open when I was a junior, and I remember one ball, I gave her a smash, and she put on me so hard,” Sasnovich said. “It was on my leg.”
After reaching the Brisbane semi-final as a qualifier at the start of the season, Sasnovich told reporters: “Anything is possible because the ball is round.”
“Everyone can beat everyone,” Sasnovich said after the biggest win of her career at the All England Club.
“Each day is a new day, and today I won over Kvitova and tomorrow, you are going to play with another girl. You are in the same condition. She won first round, I won first round, so everyone is equal here. Everyone wants to win, every day you have to come and you have show your good tennis if you want to get a good result.”
