A meeting of experience and youth: Sabalenka set to play Mboko at Australian Open

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Luxury brands have been getting airtime at the Australian Open as Aryna Sabalenka and Victoria Mboko advanced to the fourth round.

When the top-ranked player in women’s tennis meets one of the sport’s rising teenage stars, though, it’ll be all about the business of tennis.

No. 1 Sabalenka edged Anastasia Potapova 7-6 (4), 7-6 (7) and 19-year-old Mboko ousted 14th-seeded Clara Tauson 7-6 (5), 5-7, 6-3 to advance to the Round of 16.

Sabalenka has won the Australian Open twice and reached the final here last year. She has also won two U.S. Open titles. Mboko is making her Australian Open debut at Melbourne Park. 

There’s been a bigger focus on fashion than usual at the tournament after Naomi Osaka’s dramatic walk-on for her first-round match.

So both had to field questions about endorsement deals timed to coincide with the year’s first major — Sabalenka with Gucci; Mboko with Rolex — but the main focus Friday was, more pertinently, on a match-up between two players of vastly different experience.

“First of all, I never actually talked to her, never had chance to hit, to practice with her. I’ve only seen her outside,” Sabalenka said. “I was watching some matches. Yeah, she’s a great player. She’s a fighter. She’s playing really good, aggressive tennis.”

Sabalenka is playing at the Australian Open for the eighth time, has won 22 titles on tour and earned more than $45 million in prize money in her career. She was long considered among the brightest prospects in the sport but had to overcome nerves and problems with her serve. It wasn’t until her fourth trip to the Australian Open that she advanced to the second week.

“I feel like maybe for me, it would be really tough to handle the success at young age,” Sabalenka said. “But I feel like now seeing these girls, so like young age achieving so much, playing such a great tennis, being really mature, it’s incredible. I feel like they mature much faster than I did.”

Mboko acknowledged it’ll be a huge step up, on and off the court. It’s her fourth major and her first time into the Round of 16. She has won two WTA titles, her first last year as an 18-year-old wild card in Montreal. 

“I think it’s super cool. I’ve never played a current No. 1 in the world. That’s going to be a very different experience,” she said. “I assume we’d be playing on Rod Laver, as well. I’ve never played on a Grand Slam center court either. A lot of firsts.

“To be doing that on Sunday is, I think, really cool. Just to show what I got.”

Sabalenka has developed a large following by being very active on social media, bringing new fans to tennis and giving existing fans a look behind the scenes.

She takes the role of being an ambassador for the public, and a positive influence for younger players, seriously. Mboko is about to get her first close-up experience.

“That’s the only focus I have, is to be good example, to show that you can balance things, that you have to have fun and also be really focused on your career,” she said. “Just so the young kids are not making the same mistake that I made, being too much on tennis and it’s actually created a lot of pressure and it’s kind of like destroying yourself from inside.

“I’m just trying to be an example for the next generation to be fun, to be willing to do things that you like that brings you joy, but also the same time being focused on tennis.”

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