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Aryna Sabalenka admits being watched by Roger Federer during her US Open quarter-final win amped up the pressure.

Sabalenka defeated reigning Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng to advance, but having spotted Federer in the crowd, the Belarussian said: “I saw him there, saw him on the big screen. I’m pretty sure he came to watch Tiafoe and Dimitrov, but still, I was like, okay, ‘I have to play my best tennis so he enjoys it. I have to show my skills’.

“You know, slice skills, come to the net and all that stuff. Yeah, that was a nice moment. Nice to see him around.”