French Open recap: Aryna Sabalenka’s tennis evolution sees her through at Roland Garros
Follow The Athletic’s French Open coverageWelcome to the French Open briefing, where The Athletic will explain the stories behind the stories on each day of the tournament.On day eight, a world No. 1 showed why she has evolved her game, a tale of three match points and the secret Roland Garros champion in the French Open draw.How one match showed off the importance of a plan BWorld No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka went into Sunday’s meeting with Amanda Anisimova with a 2-5 head-to-head record, and having lost three of their four meetings on clay.In theory, that put the American No. 16 seed at a pretty big advantage. But four of those five Anisimova wins came before Sabalenka had become a Grand Slam champion — and more importantly, the multi-faceted player she is now.AdvertisementSabalenka offered a reminder of that evolution throughout a comfortable […]
