Top seed Aryna Sabalenka cruised past 18-year-old American Iva Jovic on Tuesday to book her place in the Australian Open semifinals amid searing heat – and kept hearts racing long after the match was finished.
The World No.1 is cruising towards another title at Melbourne Park and was in a relaxed mood when she was interviewed by former Aussie tennis star Jelena Dokic on court.
Dokic decided to move away from the subject of tennis, resulting in an awkward moment for Sabalenka with her boyfriend Georgios Frangulis watching on in the stands.
‘I was doing my research today for the match and just in general, I realised something,’ Dokic said.
‘You’re world number one, and so is Carlos Alcaraz. You are reigning US Open champions. You also haven’t lost a set on the way to the quarterfinals, but you also share something else.
‘Birthdays – same day on the fifth of May.
Women’s World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka saw the funny side of Jelena Dokic’s line of questioning about her similarities to Carlos Alcaraz
The tennis superstar found the suggestion of swapping presents with men’s No.1 Carlos Alcaraz slightly awkward
Dokic and Sabalenka shared a laugh when the No.1 seed asked her boyfriend to leave before she answered one of the questions
‘So, I have a question, and I think we should make this a tradition. I think you should exchange gifts.
‘And if you did, what would you gift Carlos, and what would you like to get from him, because I know you love your diamonds? Just putting it out there.’
The question took a laughing and blushing Sabalenka by surprise, and she made a cheeky gesture to her partner Georgios Frangulis, asking: ‘Can you leave?’
‘No, no, what would I give him? I would offer him a TikTok dance probably, and I would like to receive “yes” as an answer.’
Dokic probed further, asking: ‘Yes to what?’
‘To TikTok,’ Sabalenka replied.
‘To do a dance? OK, so we have to get Carlos to dance,’ Dokic said.
‘Yeah, last year I forced him to do it, so I feel like I can do it again,’ Sabalenka replied.
Sabalenka and Alcaraz share the same birthday and are both reigning US Open champions
Sabalenka is dating Brazilian businessman and founder of the superfood brand Oakberry Georgios Frangulis (pictured together)
‘We’ll get it out there, Carlos, get your dancing shoes out, OK,’ Dokic said.
The pair famously did a TikTok dance with their US Open trophies last year, with Sabalenka posting the video with the caption: ‘May 5th must be a really lucky birthday to have.’
But Dokic was not finished there.
‘Last one, you’re dazzling us with your tennis. There’s something else that’s dazzling. I mean, I, I’m going blind here, your diamonds, everywhere,’ Dokic said.
‘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.’
‘For you anything, my dear,’ Sabalenka replied, taking off her watch and handing it to the Aussie tennis star.
‘Really? Do I want to know how much this costs?’ Dokic asked.
‘A lot,’ Sabalenka laughed, before helping Dokic put the expensive timepiece on.
‘Can I just ask, I don’t want to know how much it costs, but do we have insurance?’ Dokic asked.
‘I’m pretty sure we do,’ Sabalenka replied.
‘You trust me this much?’ a stunned Dokic asked.
‘Yeah, I know you, you’re gonna give it back to me,’ Sabalenka replied.
