Novak Djokovic called out by Aryna Sabalenka as star left waiting | Tennis | Sport
Sabalenka and her boyfriend, Georgios Frangulis, also went on a double date with Djokovic and his wife, Jelena, last year. The two multi-Aussie Open champions also teamed up for a quick mixed doubles exhibition match ahead of the tournament here two years ago, but they’ve never made their on-court partnership official.
No. 1 seed Sabalenka is hoping the US Open mixed doubles event could give them the opportunity to team up. The revamped tournament is staged across two days before the rest of the main draw action gets underway and uses a shorter, fast-four scoring format.
But the 27-year-old is still waiting to hear from Djokovic about a potential partnership. Asked when they would finally partner up, Sabalenka replied: “Maybe at the US Open this year. I mean, I’m still waiting.
“He just like barely asked me at the US Open last year. I’m still waiting for that long message from him, how he would like to play with me, that I’m his dream partner. So I’m still waiting for the message. Never got it. I don’t know. Maybe we’re not playing.”
For now, Sabalenka and Djokovic are fully focused on the singles event at the Australian Open. The 2023 and 2024 champion, Sabalenka is hunting her third title in four years. Djokovic, meanwhile, is a 10-time former champion but last lifted the trophy here in 2023.
Sabalenka is already through to the quarter-finals after beating teenage star Victoria Mboko 6-1 7-6(1). She led 4-2 in the second set and then had two match points on serve before Mboko broke back and forced a tiebreak.
“She’s incredible, that’s for sure. But the tricky thing about playing the first match [of the day], don’t get me wrong I like to play the first match, but the tricky part, at some point the sun goes right into your serve point. It’s kind of like tricky. It’s become not easy. You can break the serve,” the world No. 1 later said.
“That’s what actually happened. Two breaks that she got, it was on the side when I was facing the sun. Yeah, I didn’t deal that good with the serve. She done incredible job serving on that side. That’s the tricky part. I knew she’s going to be fighting. I knew she’s going to be trying. She kind of like has nothing to lose. She showed incredible tennis in those moments when she broke my serve. But yeah, I was just focusing staying in the moment, playing point by point, trying to get this win.”
Djokovic faces Jakub Mensik in his own fourth-round match on Monday as he bids to join Sabalenka in the quarters. Mensik beat the 24-time Major winner in the Miami Open final last year.
