Saba begged for mercy from his men in the final, and Ao Fat: My perfect game hasn't been played yet

Sabalenka expressed a strong desire to take home the $105,000 Porsche, which is being held in Stuttgart as a prize for the winner of the 2025 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. The world number one revealed that desire in an interview after beating Paulini to advance to the final in Stuttgart.

With second-round opponent Potapova retiring, Sabalenka qualified for the quarterfinals after a first-round bye. In the quarter-finals, she showed her strength with a comfortable 6-4 6-1 victory over Mertens.

Then, in the semi-finals, Sabalenka defeated world No. 6 Paulini 7-5 6-4 in straight sets. After her victory over the Italian, Sabalenka looks ahead to the final, where she will face former world number five Ostapenko.

"She's in really good form right now, and her past record doesn't matter anymore. Tomorrow I'm going to go out on the pitch and give it my all like I did in the first game, and I'm going to fight for this beautiful car behind me. Sabalenka said in her post-match on-field interview.

The world number one later acknowledged Ostapenko's current hot form, but she quipped and begged the Latvian to "let her go" and let her win the race because she "really needed" the electric Porsche Macan Turbo.

"Please. I beg you. Really, please. I need that car. I'd like to add this (she makes a tick gesture) to my list of goals. It looks like a tiger, it's so cool. Seriously. Tomorrow I will fight for every point. She added.

This year's final against Ostapenko in Stuttgart was Sabalenka's fourth final in Stuttgart. She has reached the final of the tournament three years in a row (2021, 2022 and 2023), but she has failed in all of them.

In 2021, Sabalenka faced then-world number one Barty in the final in Stuttgart, where she won the first set 6-3, but then Barty quickly fought back to win the title in two sets in a row, 6-0 and 6-3, to win a Porsche Taycan Turbo S Cross Turismo.

In 2022, Sabalenka reached the final again, but this time she suffered a heavy 2-6 2-6 defeat to Swiatek. Swiatek wins the Porsche Taycan GTS Sport Turismo. In 2023, the two met again in the final, and Swiatek still came out on top, taking home the Porsche Taycan Turbo S Sport Turismo 6-3 6-4.

If Sabalenka wins in Stuttgart, she will win around $162183 and 500 WTA points in addition to the electric Porsche Macan Turbo.

Ostapenko, on the other hand, says she has yet to play a "perfect" game in her career. The Latvian defeated Alexandrova 6-4 6-4 to advance to the final. It was her first clay-court final since beating Halep to win the French Open in 2017.

In Stuttgart, Ostapenko regained his form. She was in the doldrums after reaching the final in Qatar, but this time she beat No.2 seed Swiatek and No.7 seed Navarro to make it to the final. Next, she will face top seed Sabalenka in the final.

After the comfortable win over Alexandrova, Ostapenko was asked in his post-match interview if he would be frustrated when he made a mistake in the match. She responded in a video from Tennis Express: "You know what, I get really angry every time I lose a ball because I'm super competitive and I want to win every ball. I know that's unrealistic, but I'm a perfectionist. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's not, but I try to let those negativity go out and get ready to play for the next point. ”

The 27-year-old was then asked if he had played a "perfect" match. A self-proclaimed perfectionist, she admits that while she may never be perfect, that is always her goal: "I don't think that's going to happen because I'm a super perfectionist." Sometimes I'm playing really well, but it's not good enough for me. I hope I don't be too myself, no matter what, I'll be proud of myself. ”

2024 marks Ostapenko's thirteenth season on the Tour. She currently holds five Tour titles, with a world high of fifth. With her excellent performance in Stuttgart, she will return to the top 20 in the world.

Ostapenko has every reason to believe he can beat anyone in the world. She has just completed a six-fight winning streak against five-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek and her first clay victory over the two-time Stuttgart Polish champion.

After the match, Ostapenko once again underlined her unwavering confidence in her own strength. Tennis journalist José Mogado quoted her on X: "I know that my strength has always been there. I always believe in myself, that's the most important thing. I'm sure I can beat anyone. ”(Source: Tennis Home Author: Spark)