Sawt Falasteen - Sabalenka feeling 'stronger than ever' on clay before French Open

The top seed from Belarus arrives in Paris after winning a third title on clay in Madrid and reaching the quarter-finals at the Italian Open in Rome.

"Throughout the years I've improved a lot (on clay) and today I feel physically, mentally... my game is pretty much ready to play on clay. Yeah, I definitely feel stronger than ever," Sabalenka told journalists.

Last year, an out-of-sorts Sabalenka was shocked by Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva in the quarter-finals in Paris.

And she is taking no chances as she opens on Sunday against 75th-ranked Russian Kamilla Rakhimova.

"I'm definitely not going to go for the same meal as before that quarter-final match, the lesson is learned," she smiled.

"I'm super motivated because I feel like last year I was really ready to be in the last stages of the tournament but my body didn't really feel the same.

"This year I'm motivated more than I was last year."

Sabalenka's reign as two-time defending Australian Open champion ended in a defeat in the final in Melbourne to American Madison Keys in January.

"It honestly doesn't matter your ranking when you arrive in the big tournaments, as we see in the past. There is so many crazy upsets happening," continued Sabalenka, whose best finish on the Paris clay was the semi-finals in 2023.

"I'm just trying to focus on my game, and nowadays I know I can do well in clay, so arriving here, I feel really strong and super excited, and hopefully this is going to be the year when I'm really going to be proud of myself on the clay court.

"At this point of my career, it's all about winning the titles, the big trophies, and I think you have to set up really huge goals for yourself.

"Yeah, maybe sometimes really crazy goals. Yeah, I'm more into, like, winning than just reaching the finals, because losing in the final sucks, I hate it, so that's not the goal for me."

Clay is a surface on which the reigning US Open champion has had to work hard to get to a top level, but she believes she now has the ammunition.

"On clay court, power is not enough. Sometimes you have to build the point three or four times in one point, so you have to physically be ready, mentally be ready," Sabalenka said.

"And you have to improve your game as much as possible and you have to have variety in the game to be able to compete on clay court."

Her top ranking is an additional motivation.

"Knowing that there is someone chasing me or I'm, like, I have a target on my back right now, I love it. I take it as a challenge," the 27-year-old said.

"Every time I go out there, I feel like, okay, let's go. Let's see who is ready for the pressure moments."

K.AbuDahab--SF-PST