Krueger to bring big serve and self-belief against top seed Sabalenka

She’s 20 years old, already has a Hologic WTA Tour title in her pocket and a burgeoning, not-so-quiet confidence.

Ashlyn Krueger is into the third round of the China Open -- all she has to do to reach the fourth is beat No.1 seed Aryna Sabalenka (1 p.m. in Beijing).

Beijing: Scores | Order of Play | Draws

“I have no pressure going in,” Krueger said Saturday in an interview with wtatennis.com. “I’m just going to play my game, play the best that I can, enjoy it and have fun.

“She’s in very good form -- but I’m also in good form.”

Well, then … Krueger’s not wrong.

In her 6-1, 7-6(4) second-round win over No.29 seed Lulu Sun, the 6-foot-1 American served lights out. She won 29 of 36 first-serve points (81 percent) and perhaps more impressively, 16 of 23 second-serve points (70 percent). That works out to a smoking 45-for-59 (76 percent).

It’s the product of a season-long focus on her most dangerous weapon.

“There were a couple of things mechanically that I had to work through,” Krueger said. “Like the toss being too far out front, or the timing with the jump on the serve. Just little things. Now that it’s more fluid, I’m serving much better.

“You can tell by the confidence out there. The first ball, I’m really stepping in and being more aggressive.”

Krueger’s ascension through the ranks has been so swift, you might have missed it. At the end of 2021, at the age of 17, she was ranked No.536. She was No.178 a year later and No.81 in 2023. She’s currently No.68 -- but there are only four younger players ranked ahead of her: Coco Gauff (by two months), Diana Shnaider (one month), Mirra Andreeva and Linda Noskova.

The breakthrough came one year ago when she won the title in Osaka, defeating Zhu Lin in the final. 

“That’s probably when [the confidence] started to be honest, just winning a title,” Krueger said. “There’s so many girls out here who are Top 30, Top 40 and they’re still searching for a title. And I already have one, and to win it when you’re young, at 19, means a lot.

“Going into matches on the tour, knowing you have a title -- that you’ve been there before and done that -- is also a step in the right direction, a confidence boost when you’re out there.”

Krueger’s coach, Michael Joyce, was a 12-year professional who rose to a career-high No.64 on the ATP Tour, about where Krueger is now. Before matches, he imparts positive thoughts.

“He tells me that I belong out there, tells me that when I’m playing the right way I can hit anyone off the court,” Krueger said. “That’s a big lift coming from someone like him. And now, really starting to believe it, you can see it in my play.”

Before the recent US Open, Krueger was 0-for-6 in major main-draw matches. But after dropping the first set of her first-round match against Zhang Shuai 6-0, Krueger rallied to win in three sets. 

“Honestly,” she said, “it was more of a relief than anything. Like finally getting it, and playing Shuai was tough, too, because she was on a 20-match losing streak. So it was even harder -- and she’s a friend. But to do it at the US Open meant so much to me.”

Proving it was no fluke, she handled Andreeva in straight sets before going out to Liudmila Samsonova in the third round.

It’s been the same in the WTA 1000s. After losing her first six main-draw matches coming into this season, Krueger is now 8-7 in those events.

After losing the first set of her first-round match in Dubai, Krueger came back to defeat Caroline Garcia -- and took former World No.1 Karolina Pliskova to three sets in the second.

Since then, she’s been a consistent presence in the big tournaments. She won two matches in Madrid and two more after qualifying in Toronto. Against Sabalenka, she has a chance to win three 1000 main-draw matches at a single event for the first time.

There’s been a steep learning curve for Krueger, managing her time with scheduled off days and more free time than regular tournaments. She acknowledges that there are areas she can improve -- everything, actually: serve, placement, shot selection. And even though she moves remarkably well for someone her height, she’s constantly working to get quicker in and out of the corners.

Krueger’s next goals are to move into the Top 50 and advance to the quarterfinals of a WTA 1000 event.

The way she’s playing, anything is possible. In her 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 first-round win over Wang Yafan, Kruger hit 30 winners, her best total in a WTA victory. She’s never played Sabalenka but says she’s looking forward to the matchup.

“Playing consistently, getting deeper in these tournaments consistently with back-to-back wins,” Krueger said, “is when I really feel like, `I’m out here, and I can do this.’”