BENGALURU, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Aryna Sabalenka will attempt to become the first woman since Serena Williams to capture three consecutive titles at the U.S. Open, though a sharp dip in form has clouded what once looked like an inevitable march toward the milestone.
Back-to-back titles forged by a powerful and precise game established the 28-year-old as the dominant force at Flushing Meadows, where no woman has enjoyed a comparable run since American great Williams won three in a row from 2012-14.
Sabalenka looked poised to tighten her grip on the women's game following hardcourt triumphs at Brisbane, Indian Wells and Miami but her momentum has suddenly stalled, with a 17-7 win-loss record since April underlining a loss of consistency.
With Sabalenka's world number one ranking under threat from Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina, any stumble in New York could prove costly.
The four-times Grand Slam champion is well aware she has a target on her back.
"Everyone wants to beat you," she said ahead of the Cincinnati Open tune-up event, where she lost in the round of 16 to Czech outsider Sara Bejlek.
"It's the same if you're number one, number two, number 10. It doesn't really matter what the ranking is ... I love having a target on my back.
"I like to see the younger generation looking up to me and getting inspired by me. But they're going to be inspired even if I drop in the rankings a bit. Hopefully it'll never happen.
"As long as I focus on developing myself as a player and a person, the ranking doesn't really matter."
ESPN commentator Mary Joe Fernandez said Sabalenka's title defence was on shaky ground.
"She has not reached a final since winning Indian Wells and Miami back-to-back," the former world number four said.
"She struggled a bit winning the big points. She's lost a couple big leads in some events. So she's vulnerable."
Her downturn in form prompted tennis analyst Rick Macci to question whether Sabalenka was in the right frame of mind coming into the year's final Grand Slam.
"Right now Sabalenka is competing against herself," Macci, who previously coached Williams in the early 1990s, posted on social media.
"When an athlete does this you can still get a few wins but mentally your confidence spins. This year in New York it is the U.S. WIDE Open for the WTA as 15 different players could have the final say."
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
