Sabalenka beats wildcard in front of Federer & Laver

Aryna Sabalenka, the reigning world no. 1, triumphed over Roger Federer and Rod Laver, who had the “pressure” of watching tennis legends Roger Federer and Rod Laver.

On Rod Laver Arena, a prone-to-error Sabalenka defeated French wildcard Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah 6-4 6-1.

Federer, a six-time Australian Open champion, and Laver, a three-time champion, had seats in front of the crowd during the first-round contest, with Sabalenka joking about making an effort to not look at them.

After taking a selfie with the pair, Sabalenka, who has twice won the Melbourne title, took a selfie with them.

“I wanted to show you guys some great tennis,” he said. What a blessing, I really hope you guys only had a small amount of enjoyment from it,” said Belarus’ Sabalenka.

Sabalenka has lost just one of her past 22 matches at the tournament, a surprise three-set defeat by American Madison Keys in the final of last year’s final, and has a strong record in Australia, dropping just one set in 2023 and 2024.

Her impressive form extends to Melbourne’s blue courts as well: five of her 22 career singles titles were won there, including winning the Brisbane International, which set her up for the major this year.

However, Sabalenka was able to overcome Rakotomanga Rajaonah, the world’s number 118, in a unique way.

In the opening set, Sabalenka had her serve broken, but 13 unforced errors in the match’s first game saw 16 winners and one break, 16 of which came after she had already broken the serve.

The match became increasingly one-sided after Sabalenka reeled off five games in a row to take control after salvaging a 4-4 break point.

“I didn’t start at my best,” he said. She came out swinging and playing great, Sabalenka, who is aiming to win the Australian Open for the fourth time in a row.