Despite her defeat to Amanda Anisimova, Aryna Sabalenka was in a slightly jovial mood during her post-match press conference.
She joked with reporters that she wouldn’t make any headlines this time, like she did after her French Open final defeat earlier this year. On that occasion, she told the press conference that Coco Gauff’s defeat was more to do with her own mistakes than the American playing well.
This time, after taking more time to decompress after the match, the world No. 1 said Anisimova was the “better player” in the semifinal.
“She was more brave today, she was playing more aggressive,” she added.
Despite putting on a brave face, it was clear the defeat had really hurt Sabalenka as she missed out again on a chance at Wimbledon glory.
“I mean, losing sucks. You always feel like you want to die,” she said.
Sabalenka also noted two moments when the pair had exchanged words during the match, notably in the second set when Anisimova had celebrated a winner slightly early.
“It actually helped me to, you know, keep fighting. I’m like ‘OK, now I’m gonna show you the tennis’.
“So I came back because I got really angry in that moment. I probably, in the third set, should have remembered that and it probably would have helped.”
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