Aryna Sabalenka la tient, sa finale de Grand Chelem sur une autre surface que le dur. Devenue quasiment invincible à l'US Open de New York et l'Open d'Australie de Melbourne, la Biélorusse est à une marche du titre à Roland-Garros. Personne ne doutait de ses capacités à bien jouer sur terre battue, elle qui avait déjà remporté trois titres à Madrid, mais la manière dont elle a dominé Iga Swiatek, triple tenante du titre Porte d'Auteuil, a été impressionnante. Après deux sets accrochés, la n°1 mondiale a infligé une bulle à la Polonaise (7-6(1), 4-6, 6-0). Malgré la perte de son premier set de la quinzaine, tout roule pour Sabalenka, qui défiera Coco Gauff (n°2) pour décrocher le titre suprême.
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00:00BNP Paribas, partenaire des plus belles histoires de Roland Garros, aux côtés des ramasseurs de balles depuis plus de 50 ans.
00:30Arina, congratulations into your first Roland Garros final, defeating a very tough opponent in the defending champion.
01:00So just tell us how you're able to get the win today.
01:02Yeah, I'm super happy with the win today and beating Iga at the Roland Garros.
01:08It's just something unbelievable and something I'm super proud of.
01:12And yeah, just happy to get through this difficult match.
01:16Thank you. Questions, please?
01:18We'll try to read in the back.
01:24Congratulations.
01:25Congratulations. I just wondered how much it would mean to you if you are able to win the first non-hardcore slam and what that would kind of say about your game and how it's developed.
01:34Well, it's going to mean everything to me and my team because I have to say that my almost like the whole life I've been told that Clay Court is not my thing.
01:45and I didn't have any confidence and in the past, I don't know how many years we've been able to develop my game so much.
01:51So I feel that I feel really comfortable on the surface and I actually enjoy playing on Clay.
01:56And if I'll be able to get this trophy, it's just going to mean the world for us.
02:02And yeah, I'm ready to go in that final and to fight for every point and give everything I have to give to get the win.
02:17We've obviously seen you've developed a lot of touch to your game and drops.
02:20Was that done partly with Clay in mind and, you know, developing a game that could thrive on this surface?
02:26Well, I have to say that for the clay, I got better, much better physically.
02:34I think it's really important for Clay to be physically strong and ready to work for each point and also I work on the spin for the clay.
02:44You know, I wouldn't say that like drop shots and slice, it's like it's perfect for clay.
02:49I think it's better for the grass court, but also it seems like it's working on clay court.
02:55But I think mostly for the clay, I improved physically and also I have more variety on the shots, meaning like I can go flat, I can go with the spin, I can just go back and play in defense.
03:11You know, like that's what works the best on the clay court for me.
03:16Hi, Irina. Congratulations.
03:17Just asking a little bit about the match and in particular that third set, I think you won 19 of the last 21 points, obviously incredible tennis from you.
03:28Were you at all surprised that there wasn't more resistance from Iga in that third set?
03:34Well, yeah, like the way the third set went, it's actually like shocking for me, to be honest.
03:41But I really think that, first of all, I'm super happy that I found the rhythm on my serve and it was much easier after like I figured that, okay, I'm in control on my serve.
03:51And also I put so much pressure on her serve and I think like that was the key game, like the second game was the key game, key moment.
03:59And I think after that game, I kind of like stepped in, stepped in even more and, and she was under so much pressure.
04:06And I think like after like those first couple of games, I wasn't like really surprising because I felt like I was doing everything right and I was putting so much pressure on her.
04:17So I'm, I'm, I'm happy that it worked and I won that set.
04:21Congratulations, Alina.
04:23How much did it feel like a final because it's Iga, because of your rivalry, because it's here?
04:29And how do you regroup after a match, a big match like this to play like the true final?
04:35Yeah.
04:35I mean, yeah, as you said, it was a big match and it felt like a final, but I know that the job is not done yet.
04:42And I have to go out there on Saturday and I have to fight and I have to bring my best tennis and I have to, you know, work for that, for that title,
04:50especially if it's going to be coca.
04:52So, yeah, I'm, I'm ready.
04:54I'm ready to go out and I'm ready to fight and I'm ready to do everything it's going to take to, to get the win.
05:02Congratulations, Alina.
05:04During, between points and between games, you, you stretch quite a bit, your neck, your shoulders.
05:11I wonder whether it is to calm yourself down and if there is a conversation in your head going on at that time.
05:17I don't, I just like to crack my bones, you know, I feel like more loose and I'm ready to go after that.
05:25So it wasn't to calm down.
05:28It just, I don't know.
05:29I always do that.
05:30I don't know if it's good or not, but that's just the way my body works.
05:34Hello, Alina, congratulations for the game and the win with Iga Przemek-Pozovski from Radio Talk FM Poland.
05:42So I will ask, how would you find Iga tennis?
05:45Because last time you played like 10, 11 months ago, so a lot happened.
05:50How was it today when you looked at the other side of the court?
05:52Well, I have to say that both of us improved a lot and I think today was really a high-level match.
05:59I think she played really well and both of us were like struggling a little bit on the surf in the like first half of the match.
06:05And, and yeah, I think she's playing great tennis.
06:09Maybe she lost a little bit of a confidence.
06:11So that's why like sometimes you see her missing balls that she shouldn't have been missing.
06:17But overall, I think today was really a high-level match and I think today, today she played really great tennis.
06:25Hello, Alina.
06:26Hi.
06:26Congratulations.
06:27Like you said, a high-level match, semi-final here in Roland-Garros.
06:31Were you surprised to see empty seats today in the semi-final match?
06:35There was empty seats.
06:36Unfortunately, yes.
06:38How do you feel about that?
06:39I wasn't really focusing on that, but for me, the atmosphere, I mean, I felt incredible, you know, like it was, it was super loud.
06:46People were cheering both of us and I don't know.
06:50I didn't like really like see empty seats.
06:53I think like maybe after like second set or something people, some people left and I can totally understand.
07:00It's, it's, I don't know how they're able to sit, you know, for so long.
07:05But, I mean, I hope that for the finals it's going to be full, full.
07:13Hi, Alina.
07:14Congratulations.
07:14You are hitting the ball really hard overall, but this is, this was something else, even by your standards.
07:20So, I was wondering how hard, how hard was the maintaining control over the ball?
07:25And was it a tactic set before the match to hit even harder than you usually do?
07:31Thank you.
07:31Uh, I wasn't really trying to overhear.
07:34I feel like I just, uh, the rhythm was really perfect and I was just like swinging the ball and I didn't really think to like overheat and hit harder than I usually do.
07:44Um, but, uh, but yeah, I think I just, I don't know, I wasn't thinking about like all of that during the match.
07:52I just knew what I had to do and I was just like going for those, uh, targets and, uh, I felt like I have to be brave if I want to, uh, win and I have to put, uh, extra pressure on her.
08:04So, I was just like following the tactic.
08:07Hi, congratulations.
08:09Hi.
08:10So, uh, just follow up, some follow up question regarding your, uh, return.
08:14Iga said that, uh, you, uh, you seem to, uh, read your, uh, serve.
08:20So, uh, I was wondering if you cannot reveal any specific tactic, but, uh, do you think that you really did read her return, uh, her serve?
08:34Well, I mean, we played a lot of matches and I kind of like knew that what she would, would try to do against me, but I was focusing on myself on my rhythm and I was just like doing the split step and I was just trying to react.
08:47And, and, and, and yeah, at the, at the end, um, I like, especially like third, third set, um, I kind of like saw every time where she was going and yeah, I mean, I have to say that, yeah, in the third set, I, I saw where, where she was going.
09:06Raina, congratulations.
09:07I just want to ask about something that happened in the first set.
09:09I was up in the stand so I couldn't understand.
09:10There was like a let call or something you had, you thought, you thought it was an ace and you celebrated and then.
09:14Oh, yeah.
09:15Was that a let call or something?
09:16What happened there?
09:17Well, I felt like, I mean, I don't know, maybe, I don't know if I'm right or wrong.
09:22I just felt like the call was pretty late and I was, I was like surprised like, oh, wow.
09:27Okay.
09:27Because I felt like, yeah, the point is finished and basically that's everything will happen that I felt like the call was a bit later, but honestly, I don't know the, the rules, you know, like if it was like on time or it was like too late, you know.
09:41But he said that the serve hit the net was the issue, just a let?
09:45Yeah, it was just let.
09:46The serve was in, unfortunately.
09:50The net was on my way.
09:53And I wanted to ask you, I see you and Novak on social media are having such a great competition with one another.
10:06So what do you think who's winning and do you think that maybe he's going to have extra motive against Sinner so he can do it again?
10:11Well, you know, I'm excited to see what he's going to come up next.
10:17But I don't know, we have to do the, how you call it, like ask on the social media, you know, like who is doing better, Irina or Novak and we'll see.
10:31Probably he's going to repost it and there's a lot of servants so probably I'm going to lose it.
10:35Let's make it international quiz, you know, like no servants allowed to pick him.
