Aryna Sabalenka shares interesting reason to play Rome Open second-round encounter in morning instead of evening

World number one Aryna Sabalenka has revealed the reason behind picking a morning time for her match at the Rome Open. The WTA 1000 event started on Tuesday, and some of the top players in the world are participating to showcase their talent and secure the ultimate prize.

On Friday, Sabalenka featured in her first game of the competition as she defeated Russia’s Anastasia Potapova in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 6-2. Talking after the match, Sabalenka stated that she had an opportunity to play the match in the evening, but she decided to play in the morning because she wanted to go out in the city, roam around, and have pizza or pasta for dinner. The reigning world number one also stated that she loves the city and expressed optimism that she will stay in the competition towards the later stages of the competition.

“I love being in Rome,” she said. “I love the support. You guys are amazing. Thank you so much. I am super happy to be back in Rome. Super happy with the win today. She is a tough opponent. Happy to get through this round. Hopefully I can stay here till the very last stages. Honestly, I had a chance to play at 7 PM or 11 AM and I decided 11, you know why? Because I want to go for dinner and have pasta or pizza. So yea, I will definitely go out for dinner and walk around the city. Its an incredibly beautiful place.”

Sabalenka will now face one-time Grand Slam winner America’s Sofia Kenin, who cemented her spot in the next round after beating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-0. This will be the fifth meeting between the two players. In the previous four meetings, Sabalenka had a clear edge as she won on three occasions.