FILE PHOTO: Aug 15, 2024; Cincinnati, OH, USA ; Arena Sabalenka returns a shot against Elisabetta Cocciaretto of Italy on day four of the Cincinnati Open. Mandatory Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports/File Photo
(Reuters) - A string of near-misses at the U.S. Open have given Aryna Sabalenka some extra motivation to finally get the job done at the year's final Grand Slam.
World number two Sabalenka, who has called the U.S. Open her favourite Grand Slam, reached at least the semi-finals for the last three years, including a runner-up showing last year.
"It's not like it's in my mind a lot that I kind of, like, have unfinished something here, but those tough losses definitely motivated me a lot to hard work and to improve things which didn't work in the previous years," Sabalenka told reporters.
"Every time I'm coming here, I'm really hoping for the best result. I really hope one day I'll be happy to lift this beautiful trophy."
To prepare for the hardcourt season, the two-time reigning Australian Open champion took a mid-year break to recover from a shoulder injury that kept her out of Wimbledon.
The time off has done wonders as the Belarusian, who has a game tailor-made for hard courts, lifted the Cincinnati title in the last of her three tune-up events and feels indestructible.
"That little break was much needed. The first two tournaments were kind of like tricky with the shoulder. Like, first time I faced this kind of fear of getting injured," said Sabalenka.
"But I'm really happy that in Cincinnati things clicked for me, and I trust the hard work we did. I'm pretty sure that I'm not going to get injured again."
Sabalenka is favoured in New York but she will face plenty of tests over the fortnight, including a potential clashes with defending champion Coco Gauff in the semi-finals and world number one Iga Swiatek in the final.
But Sabalenka, who boasts a powerful serve, aggressive baseline play, explosive groundstrokes and is comfortable at the net, knows she has the tools necessary to collect a third Grand Slam title.
"The way I'm playing right now, I feel really proud, because I know how hard I work to improve my game, to be able to do all those kind of like tricky shots and to have this variation in the game," said Sabalenka.
"So it just brings me only like positive emotions. Also, it's like when I see myself, like, improving some stuff, it just motivate me and kind of inspire myself to work hard and to find some more stuff to improve and to get better."
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
