Aryna Sabalenka had continued her flawless run at Wimbledon after a straight sets win over Elise Mertens.
Sabalenka praised Mertens after knocking her out of Wimbledon, having won their round of 16 meeting 6-4, 7-6(7-4).
The WTA number one has yet to drop a set at the Grand Slam this year, with Sabalenka representing the top seed at SW19.
Sabalenka has been backed to win Wimbledon, where she has never made it beyond the semi-finals stage.
The Belarusian made it that far in both 2021 and 2023, having reached the finals of the three other Grand Slams.
Photo by Visionhaus via Getty ImagesThe shot Aryna Sabalenka admits she has directly copied from Novak Djokovic
And she has now revealed receiving help from another star of the game, having been asked in her latest press conference which players she has come across that she thinks have the most insight and knowledge into the sport.
After deep thought, she replied: “Hmm, trying to think right now. I think not like someone I played against, but definitely talking a lot to Novak [Djokovic].
“He definitely has a lot of knowledge of the game, and it’s really helped me a lot, several times. Basically whenever I talk to him, it’s really helping me.
“But someone I played against, I think actually [Ashleigh] Barty, she was always very smart, and she definitely understands the game quite well, and yeah I think she was the smartest one.”
Ashleigh Barty Grand Slam finals
And when asked for what she has spoken to 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic about, she said: “It’s a lot of things. One of the conversations went to managing energy, another one about the mental part of the game.
“Then we had another conversation about mentally approaching those big finals. So yeah, I think mostly we’re talking about the mental part of the game.
“And also one time he really helped me with the return. Now he’s like always making fun of me copying his return.
“But I’m like, ‘Man, it’s working’. I mean I’m copying the best. So actually probably I have to talk to him a bit more about tennis stuff.”
Where does Novak Djokovic currently rank among the best men’s returners?
It is certainly unsurprising that Sabalenka’s mirroring of Djokovic’s return is working wonders for her game.
He is arguably the best returner the men’s game has ever seen, the like of which may never be seen again.
And Sabalenka is now shining in that regard, having achieved stunning success at the age of 27, with plenty more titles to come.
Wimbledon represents her current opportunity, with Laura Siegemund now awaiting the three-time Grand Slam winner in the quarter-finals.
Her helper Djokovic meanwhile is into the round of 16 at Wimbledon, where the sixth seed meets 11th seed Alex de Minaur.
And very intriguingly, De Minaur tops the current ATP Tour return leaders charts, with his next opponent currently down in 14th.
ATP Tour return leaders (ATP Tour stats)
Djokovic is not, however, the player he used to be, but an exciting battle is certainly on the cards between the two talented returners.
And like the Serbian, Australian icon Barty reached number one in the world rankings, with the three-time Grand Slam champion having clearly left a lasting mark on Sabalenka.
She enjoyed a stunning career, winning all three of her Grand Slam finals, although was on the receiving end of a Grand Slam doubles finals defeat to Sabalenka and Mertens at the 2019 US Open.