Sabalenka owned Madrid, and there’s no reason to doubt what comes next

When it was over and the ecstatic crowd at La Caja Magic jumped to its collective feet in applause, Aryna Sabalenka did not fall to the crushed red clay beneath her, didn’t scream or pump her fists or even openly exult. She merely raised her arms in a perfect V — for victory.

And then, blowing kisses to the camera, strolled to her changeover chair, fished a camera out of her bag, crossed the court and snapped a picture of her team. After that thoroughly professional 6-3, 7-6 (3) victory over Coco Gauff on Saturday, Sabalenka is now a three-time Mutua Madrid Open champion. That equals the record total of Petra Kvitova and, not insignificantly, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic as well.

Winning is never guaranteed, but in Sabalenka’s mind, this was expected. Her will manifested itself in the moments that mattered. Sabalenka’s earned that confidence because — by an uncommonly wide margin — she is the best player in the sport.

On Monday, the World No. 1 will become only the third woman to amass more than 11,000 ranking points and is nearly 4,000 ahead of No. 2 Iga Swiatek in the PIF WTA Rankings. That gap is likely to grow. With Swiatek defending titles in Rome and Paris, she’ll also be defending 3,000 points across the next month. And because Sabalenka missed Wimbledon last year, this year’s result will be a ranking points windfall.

Sabalenka is more than 1,600 points clear of No. 2 Madison Keys in the PIF Race to the WTA Finals in Riyadh. She’s the only player with three titles so far — Brisbane, Miami and Madrid — and has collected back-to-back WTA 1000 titles on vastly different surfaces. Her 31 match-wins are also the most among Hologic WTA Tour players.

This was Gauff’s 10^th match against Sabalenka in six years. How has her game evolved?

“I feel like she just got a lot better in everything,” Gauff said. “I think she just probably is more confident, so that’s why the consistent results are happening.”

Examine the timeline and you’ll find that the catalyst for all of this, oddly enough, was a loss.

Back in January, Sabalenka was going for her third consecutive Australian Open but Keys was simply too good in the final. For Sabalenka, who started the year 11-0, it was a devastating loss. She left the Middle East in something of a funk, having lost an unheard of three of four matches.

But then, she rallied and reached four straight finals — Indian Wells, Miami, Stuttgart and Madrid — winning two of them. Sabalenka’s won 19 of her past 21 and even with the slow surfaces in Rome and Paris looming, she’s going to like her chances.

A few hours after the win in Madrid, Sabalenka fielded some questions from wtatennis.com:

Looking back, how did losing that Australian Open final motivate you to produce the best start of your career heading into Rome?

Sabalenka: Yeah, honestly, that final was the toughest one. I really struggled to accept that match, tough loss. And I think, February I was kind of trying to figure my way. Then I got really hungry and angry — angry in a good way and I think at the end, the Australian Open final pushed me to work even harder. Kind of explains to me that you have to really work hard in finals and you have to earn your victories. It was a good push for me.

Your last two matches, four of six sets went to seven games — you won them all … how proud are you of the fact you competed so well in the most important moments?

Sabalenka: I’m super happy that I was able to bring the level in those key moments. Super happy with the level I played this week and hopefully I can keep going the way everything is going.

Your defense doesn’t get a lot of attention, but … against Coco how important was it to stay in some of those long points?

Sabalenka: It’s very important to not only be an attacking player, but in those key moments to be a good defender and dig really deep in there, try to steal a few points. It definitely brings more confidence in your game.

Only four women in 40 years won their first six matches against Top 10 players in straight sets – their names are Martina Navratilova (1986), Steffi Graf (1994, 1995 and 1996), Serena Williams (2014) — and Aryna Sabalenka … what do you think of that?

Sabalenka: I … don’t know. I mean, they are legends. They achieved so much, these players I look up to. Me, being in the same line with them … it just sounds crazy and I couldn’t be more proud.

Of all the ups and downs you’ve experienced, how good do you feel about your game right now?

Sabalenka: I definitely feel really good about my game. But I think the key for me was that I was always looking for something to improve. And now, still, I want to get better.

Three Madrid titles … the way you’re playing, in your mind, can you win in Rome or Paris for the first time?

Sabalenka: [Laughing]. I mean, in my mind, in my dreams, yes I can. But sometimes the reality is different. I will definitely go out there and compete and fight and see if my dream will be the same in real life.