The build-up to AO 2023 for Aryna Sabalenka and Belinda Bencic couldn’t have gone much better.
Indeed, the Adelaide 1 winner meets the Adelaide 2 champion on Monday for a spot in the quarterfinals, a year after both players failed to make the last eight at Melbourne Park.
MORE: All the results from AO 2023
DRAW Australian Open 2023 women's singles
Neither has dropped a set, either, although 12th seed Bencic did rally from 5-2 down and saved a pair of set points in the first set of her second-round clash against Claire Liu.
An early prodigy, Bencic has had an exceptional career, especially since prodigies rarely go on to excel at the highest level.
She is the Olympic champion, led Switzerland to a maiden Billie Jean King Cup title last November, and appeared in a Grand Slam semifinal.
Sabalenka’s emergence from junior days wasn’t quite as heralded but her immense quality is now well known.
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One of the hardest hitters around, the fifth seed reached a high of No.2 two years ago.
Her long-awaited Grand Slam breakthrough came at Wimbledon the same year with a semifinal showing, and two more appearances in the last four of a major have followed.
Adding to the intrigue of their upcoming encounter is that Bencic’s coach, Dmitry Tursunov, formerly coached Sabalenka.
“Sabalenka is a very aggressive player, has a lot of power,” said Bencic. “Dmitry was her coach before, so he can help me a lot, I hope.”
Their head-to-head record stands at one win apiece, Sabalenka winning in straight sets on a hard court in New Haven in 2018 before Bencic won in different circumstances on Dubai’s hard courts.
Bencic saved six match points in four different games in the decider and took her first opportunity in a 6-4 2-6 7-6(7) victory. She overcame 13 double faults, while Sabalenka struck eight.
Double faults have come in bunches for both in their career, with Sabalenka tallying 41 in her first three matches last year at Melbourne Park.
She has hit only seven in three matches at AO 2023 and dropped a combined 14 games.
Staying calm on court, according to the 24-year-old, has been key.
“It feels like I wish I would be like that a few years ago,” said Sabalenka. “Finally I understand what everyone was looking for and asking for."
“I need to be a little bit boring on court. It's still about a lot of positive emotions for me, but I'm trying to stay away from negative and just fight for every point.”
And not thinking too far ahead.
“Before, in the second week, I remember I was getting nervous, I was overthinking, overdreaming,” said Sabalenka.
“I really believed and believe that the only one thing that was missing was kind of my emotions, that I was too emotional on court.
“I really believe if I'm going to stay the same, the mindset, the same calm on court, I really believe that I can get it,” she said, referring to a Grand Slam singles title.
Danger for Pliskova against Australian Open champ?
The lone player remaining in the bottom half of the draw with experience in a Grand Slam singles final is former world No.1 Karolina Pliskova.
Pliskova pulled off one of the most memorable comebacks at the Australian Open in recent years, downing Serena Williams after trailing 5-1 and saving four match points in the third set of their quarterfinal in 2019.
The Czech, reunited with coach Sascha Bajin, missed last year’s Australian Open with a broken arm but hasn’t dropped a set through three rounds in 2023.
China’s Zhang Shuai, Pliskova’s opponent on Monday, hasn’t beaten Pliskova in seven attempts.
“We play a lot, a lot time against each other, and I never win,” the 23rd seed laughed.
Zhang’s career truly took off when she upset Simona Halep in Melbourne in 2016 to end an 0-for-14 run in Grand Slams.
She also won the Australian Open doubles crown with her friend, Sam Stosur, in 2019.
Pliskova beware?
Milestone for Garcia…and Linette
Caroline Garcia saved eight of nine break points in her tight second-round win over 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez.
A trend thus continued — Garcia finished second on tour for break points saved in 2022.
When the Frenchwoman rallied to down Laura Siegemund and her varied game on Saturday, it marked the first time in her career Garcia had reached the second week at a major three consecutive times.
After a semifinal at the US Open and winning the WTA Finals, she knows expectations are on her to keep on performing in Melbourne.
“I'm trying my best,” she said. “We are trying the best with the team. Emotions, stress are here obviously. It means you care, you want to do good.
"You have to adjust, try to find the good balance and go through and be able to play some good tennis, at least improve from one day to another.”
Garcia meets Magda Linette, the Pole who is appearing in the fourth round of a major for the first time.
“It feels great because when you work so hard for so many years and you are so close so many times in so many Grand Slams, it's really great that eventually you get that reward,” said Linette.
The world No.45 enters the contest having ousted seeds Anett Kontaveit and Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Youngest in draw against comeback Croatian
Who is the youngest player remaining in the draw? It is Pliskova’s compatriot Linda Fruhvirtova.
The 17-year-old is a former junior No.2 who has already made strides at senior level, advancing to the fourth round in Miami last year, winning her first title in Chennai in September and now achieving the fourth round at Melbourne Park.
Her sister, Brenda, 15, also plays.
Fruhvirtova came from 3-1 down in the final set — a point away from trailing 4-1 — to beat Olympic silver medallist and former French Open finalist Marketa Vondrousova on Saturday.
“It feels pretty surreal,” said Fruhvirtova. “Yeah, it's an incredible feeling. I'm just so happy and excited to be able to say, ‘Hi second week.’”
Opponent Donna Vekic is no stranger to the second week, making the fourth round as recently as 2021 in Melbourne.
That was before right knee and left foot injuries sent her ranking tumbling outside the top 100.
Vekic’s seven games conceded in her last two matches mask the drama of her opener, when the Croatian won a third-set match tiebreak against qualifier Oksana Selekhmeteva.