Aryna Sabalenka: Hard to recall too many matches better than Australian Open quarterfinal

Aryna Sabalenka said that her Australian Open quarterfinal victory over American teenager Iva Jovic was a match to remember. Not because it was an all-time classic, but because the world No. 1 said she couldn't recall too many career performances better than her 6-3, 6-0 waxing of the American teenager,

While paying respect to the talented Jovic, the youngest player in the WTA's Top 100, Sabalenka said the smothering second-set performance came from "knowing she had to "step in and show the level and the class."

It was a welcome change, as far as Sabalenka was concerned, from the three rounds immediately preceding the quarterfinals, where she suffered from lapses in concentration after building big leads.

"The second set, I felt like I have to step in and put even more pressure on her, because I can see that she's young, she's hungry, and I could tell during the match that no matter what's the score, she's still going to be there trying and trying to figure her way," she said.

"I think it really helped me kind of, like, just go for my shots and help me to trust my game. Yeah, that was definitely amazing performance in the second set."

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The numbers backed up Sabalenka's claim. She hammered 31 winners, nearly triple that of Jovic, to just 17 unforced errors, served seven aces, and saved all five break points she faced. She dropped just 11 points in the second set to advance to the semifinals in Melbourne for the fourth year in a row.

While impressive, the streak pales in comparison to the 27-year-old's ultimate goal.

"I think every player when they get to the tournament is trophy or nothing," she said. "The mentality is the same, and it's always in the back of your mind that obviously you want to win it.

"But I'm trying to shift my focus on the right things and taking it step by step and just trying my best in each match, each point, each game, each set. That's my mentality."

If she keeps playing like she did over the last half hour inside Rod Laver Arena on Tuesday, it might be tough to bet against her achieving it.