{"id":50800,"date":"2025-05-09T13:03:44","date_gmt":"2025-05-09T12:03:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/?p=50800"},"modified":"2025-05-09T13:03:55","modified_gmt":"2025-05-09T12:03:55","slug":"shes-mean-aryna-sabalenka-pulls-off-a-twirl-drop-shot-en-route-to-victory-against-anastasia-potapova","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/shes-mean-aryna-sabalenka-pulls-off-a-twirl-drop-shot-en-route-to-victory-against-anastasia-potapova\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018She\u2019s Mean\u2019 \u2013 Aryna Sabalenka Pulls Off a Twirl Drop Shot en Route to Victory Against Anastasia Potapova"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The World number one, Aryna Sabalenka, got her Italian Open underway with a round of 64 tie against Russia&rsquo;s Anastasia Potapova. Riding on the back of four consecutive finals, Sabalenka demonstrated an all-around game that completely demolished her opponent.&nbsp;<\/p><p>The Belarusian was not only in good form, but her overall power game was no match for Potapova, who has had her fair share of struggles this year. Nevertheless, Sabalenka took just 63 minutes to dispatch her opponent by a score of 6-2, 6-2 to move on to the <a href=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/tennis\/\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>round of 32<\/a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">RELENTLESS &#128165;<br><br>Less than a week after winning the Madrid Open, Aryna Sabalenka powers past Anastasia Potapova (6-2, 6-2) to reach the final 32 in Italy &#127934;&#127470;&#127481; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/9m5xlmdjsc\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>pic.twitter.com\/9m5xlmdjsc<\/a><\/p>&mdash; TNT Sports (@tntsports) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/tntsports\/status\/1920785025739501652?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>May 9, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sabalenka Hits Ridiculous Twirl Shot in a Comfortable Win<\/h2><p>Both players started off with good service holds, but Sabalenka looked to be in fine form, sending down booming cross-court forehands at the start of the match.&nbsp;<\/p><p>The number one seed was also serving with power, but it was her accuracy that was doing more damage, as Potapova produced many errors on returns.&nbsp;<\/p><p>Potapova did, however, do well to stay in the game, engaging in long rallies and even picking up a few drop shots. However, at 2-2, Sabalenka went on to take the next four games in a row to win the set 6-2.<\/p><p><strong>Read More:<\/strong> <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/elena-rybakina-vs-eva-lys-head-to-head-record-prediction-and-betting-odds-for-wta-italian-open-2025-round-2\/\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>Elena Rybakina vs. Eva Lys Head to Head Record, Prediction and Betting Odds for WTA Italian Open 2025 Round-2<\/a><\/strong><\/p><p>The highlight of the match came at the start of the eighth game on the Russian&rsquo;s serve as Sabalenka hit a backhand drop shot after twirling in mid-rally to then set up an easy cross-court winner. The shot was so surreal that it felt as if she was toying with her opponent.&nbsp;<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\"She's mean\" &#128557;<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SabalenkaA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>@SabalenkaA<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/IBI25?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>#IBI25<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/gnJujmdWhs\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>pic.twitter.com\/gnJujmdWhs<\/a><\/p>&mdash; wta (@WTA) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WTA\/status\/1920777670649946578?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>May 9, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure><p>The second set started in a similar fashion as Sabalenka&rsquo;s pinpoint serve was still on the mark, enabling her to hold comfortably for a 1-0 lead. While Potapova did have her moments, they were far too few for any sort of a comeback.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Match Stats<\/h2><p>Sabalenka dominated the stats sheet with a first serve percentage of 70% that had both power and accuracy. She won 80% of the points on her first serve and 69% on her second serve.&nbsp;<\/p><p><strong>Also Read:<\/strong> <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/iga-swiatek-vs-danielle-collins-head-to-head-record-preview-and-prediction-for-wta-italian-open-2025-round-of-32\/\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>Iga Swiatek vs. Danielle Collins Head-to-Head Record, Preview and Prediction for WTA Italian Open 2025 Round of 32<\/a><\/strong><\/p><p>As for Potapova, what hurt her was the 5 double faults she served. She also didn&rsquo;t have a single break-point opportunity in the match.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Aryna Sabalenka<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Stat<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Anastasia Potapova<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>0<\/td><td>Aces<\/td><td>1<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>0<\/td><td>Double Faults<\/td><td>5<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>70%<\/td><td>First serve %<\/td><td>56%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>80%<\/td><td>Win % on 1st serve<\/td><td>60%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>69%<\/td><td>Win % on 2nd serve<\/td><td>58%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>4\/7<\/td><td>Break points<\/td><td>0\/0<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>58<\/td><td>Points won<\/td><td>39<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n<div class=\"mm-layout mm-layout-type-post mm-layout-slot4\">\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sabalenka took just over an hour to go through to the next round!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":50804,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_mux_skip_reasons":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[4770],"tags":[4952,6498,6499,4936,4950,6081],"class_list":["post-50800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tennis","tag-aryna-sabalenka","tag-italian-open","tag-italian-open-2025","tag-tennis","tag-wta","tag-wta-1000"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - 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