Clara Tauson says beating Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek in a single year "shows what I can do," but also admits beating the best in the game puts more pressure and expectations on her to deliver.
At the start of the year, Tauson competed pretty well against Sabalenka at the Australian Open but ended up picking a tight 7-6 (5) 6-4 defeat in the third round. A month later, they clashed again. This time at the WTA 1000 tournament in Dubai. And the Danish tennis player came up with an outstanding display to oust the world No. 1 6-3 6-2.
After meeting Sabalenka twice earlier this year, Tauson also clashed against Swiatek at Wimbledon and lost in two sets. A couple of weeks later, the Dane got a rematch against Swiatek at the WTA 1000 tournament in Montreal and got her revenge by completing a 7-6 (1) 6-3 win.
Tauson: Beating players like Sabalenka and Swiatek shows you can do
“I think it obviously gives you confidence that you can play with these players and beat them as well. I always believed I could beat the top players. I have had some matches where I was 6-4 in the third set with them and this showed I was close, what was possible. Beating players like that shows what you can do and it also means it raises some expectations and maybe I need to be better at managing that," the world No. 12 told Tennis365.
This past summer, Tauson also recorded wins over Elena Rybakina and reigning Australian Open champion Madison Keys. And she is now enjoying a career-high ranking of No. 12 in the world.
"It’s different emotions that I need to manage and I need to obviously try to keep playing like I’m playing and hopefully I have a couple of good tournaments left in me," the 22-year-old added.
Meanwhile, Tauson made a winning start to her Wuhan main draw debut after beating Olga Danilovic 6-3 7-5. In the next round, the Danish tennis star plays against Antonija Ruzic.
Tauson isn't defending any points in Wuhan this week and she could secure breaking into the top-10 for the first time in her career with a strong result.
