Sabalenka said her opponent, a 2013 Australian Open semifinalist, “has nothing to lose.”
But Stevens was scheduled to face a more polished version of the player he last faced 20 months ago.
“I think the mindset has changed a lot,” Sabalenka said. “My approach to Slams is different. My priorities are different. I would say mentally I have changed a lot.
“I understand, ‘Okay, I know how to do it.’ I know how to differentiate between life on the court and life off the court. I used to think too much about the next game. The extra time off was too much for me.”
Fifth-seeded Zheng Qinwen, who was defeated by Sabalenka in last year’s Australian Open final, has admitted that she can no longer be in the spotlight after a breakout season that included winning gold at the Paris Olympics.
The 22-year-old Chinese ended the year by winning her fifth career title in Tokyo before heading into the WTA Finals title match in November. She hired Kei Nishikori’s former coach Dante Bottini in November to prepare for a return to Melbourne Park while full-time coach Pere Riva recovers from back surgery.
Zheng will begin the first day of RLA with his first match against Anka Todoni, who qualified 110th.
The Romanian 20-year-old finished last season winning her second WTA 125 title in Bolivia. She won six of her seven matches in Australia this season, qualifying for Brisbane and making her Australian Open debut.
Chung warned that he had a chance to prove his firm beliefs against any rival.
“If you want to beat your opponent, I think the first thing you need is confidence. If you don’t believe, you can’t be successful,” she said.
“I’m confident in myself, but I’m still not overly controlling. Sometimes when I’m overconfident I can’t listen to advice. I try to be in control at the highest level. Not too low.
In the second night’s match at RLA, the men’s second seed Alexander Zverev will face experienced Frenchman Lucas Pouille, determined to forget last year’s semi-final loss to Daniil Meddev by two sets. I am doing it.
