Aryna Sabalenka is through to her fourth straight Australian Open semi-final after beating another teenager. The world No. 1 took out 19-year-old reigning Canadian Open champion Victoria Mboko in the fourth round, and followed it up by beating American star Iva Jovic, who only turned 18 last month, on Tuesday.
The two-time former champion here sealed a 6-3 6-0 victory, but admitted it was tougher than the scoreline suggested. And Sabalenka seemed to be in a generous mood after winning in an hour and 29 minutes, letting on-court interviewer Jelena Dokic walk away with her very expensive watch.
Sabalenka’s attention-grabbing Australian Open look has been a talking point this fortnight. Three fans turned up to her last match wearing replicas of her bright pink-and-orange Nike dress. And the top seed has also turned heads, as she’s virtually dripping in diamonds while she plays.
The 27-year-old collaborated with Material Good to make custom jewellery for her Aussie Open matches, containing blue sapphires, diamonds, and 18K yellow gold. And Sabalenka is an Audemars Piguet ambassador, never forgetting to put her watch on before an on-court interview.
That was no different as she booked her spot in the semi-finals and then stepped up to speak to former world No. 4 Dokic on Rod Laver Arena. Commenting on her glamorous accessories, Dokic told Sabalenka: “You’re dazzling us with your tennis, there’s something else that’s dazzling us…
“I’m going blind here, your diamonds, everywhere. So I want to help you, as you go further in this tournament, it’s hot, you need to recover well, it looks heavy. I think you should give it to me so that I look after it.”
Dokic might have been joking, but Sabalenka was happy to oblige. “For you, anything, my dear,” the four-time Major winner replied, taking off her watch and handing it to Dokic. “Really? Do I want to know how much this costs?” the former-player-turned-pundit asked
“A lot,” Sabalenka laughed, telling Dokic to take off her existing watch and helping her put the Audemars Piguet accessory on. “Can I just ask, I don’t want to know how much this costs, but do we have insurance? You trust me this much?” Dokic added. “I know you’re going to give it back to me,” the Belarusian laughed.
Sabalenka finished putting the watch on her wrist and told the interviewer that it was “perfect”. The No. 1 seed added: “I’ll get it back tomorrow. I trust you! It’s a lot of money.” Djokic was hesitant as she replied: “You trust me that much? I’ll give it to you straight after. I can’t… I’ll see you after the match!”
But the retired star left the watch on as Sabalenka grabbed her bags and waved to the Rod Laver Arena crowd. It’s not known how much Sabalenka’s Aussie Open timepiece cost, but the Audemars Piguet watch she wore at the US Open a couple of years ago was worth around £93.5k.