Being world No.1 opens doors aplenty for Aryna Sabalenka – the best tables at restaurants, better hotel suites and headliner slots on her Australian Open schedule.
Maintaining that grip on top spot though doesn’t come easy as the two-time champion at Melbourne Park found out last season.
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There is always a pressing need to bring something new to the table to keep the challengers at bay and on Wednesday the No.1 seed did just that as she overcame a mid-match hitch to deny Chinese qualifier Bai Zhuoxuan 6-3 6-1.
The occasional serve and volley – even if they didn’t always go to plan – interspersed with drop shots came with improved patience and complemented her usual power.
Not that she was always so open to accepting such adaptations.
“Not at all, not at all,” she said. “I was really strict with my game. I didn't want to move one step, right or left.
“I think after I struggled with the double-faulting situation I had no choice. I had to open up for something new with the serve. And then I realised, OK, maybe, maybe this is the way to improve, like every time to search for something new.
“I think that that time in my life, which was disaster, actually really [taught] me a lot and helped me a lot to improve my game.
“The serve-and-volley today didn't really work well. I did one, OK at least one, that's success. But I'm trying, I'm trying my best.”
It was a first meeting between Sabalenka and former world No.83 Bai, who went through the wringer last year with injuries and arrived in Melbourne as world No.702.
While the 24-year-old Chinese player’s ability to chase down every ball against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the opening round proved her greatest asset, against an opponent with Sabalenka’s firepower, it was never going to be enough.
On the back foot early, Bai was being smothered, unable to generate enough pace to make inroads and was down 0-5 in under 15 minutes.
A pair of aces helped her get on the board and the world No.1’s vice-like grip on the opening set slipped slightly when she was broken while serving for the set.
Having fended off 25 of 38 break points in qualifying and the opening round, Bai survived three more in a near 10-minute game, before Sabalenka stopped the rot.
“There's always a little gap to improve, but I'm happy that in that game [at 5-3 in the first set], I didn't lose it and I was focused,” Sabalenka said. “I was trying to tell myself ‘OK, just one at a time. It's OK. It's gonna come back. You're OK. Just keep fighting, keep trying and I'm glad I did it well.”
The top seed wasn’t without her troubles, despite jumping to 4-0 again in the second, but persistence in her game plan kept her on the straight and narrow as she closed it out in 74 minutes for a third-round meeting against 28th seed Emma Raducanu or Anastasia Potapova.
Sabalenka boasts a flawless 3-0 record against Raducanu and 2-0 against Potapova, but won’t be reading too much into that.
“I never focus on the past. Doesn't matter what the head-to-head looks like,” she said. “It's always a new match, always a new battle. Every player is getting better, improving.
“And also, you know, when you go against the top-ranking player, you have nothing to lose so you play more free so they always bring the best battle, which I love. It's a great challenge for me.”
Wednesday’s win marked Sabalenka’s 25th singles match win as world No.1 and made her just the sixth player since 2000 to achieve the feat following Serena Williams, Lindsay Davenport, Justine Henin, Ash Barty and Iga Swiatek.
Elite company for an elite champion maintaining her hold at the top of the pecking order.