Russian tennis star Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova found a novel way to get her blood pumping ahead of her Australian Open warmup – by scaling the roof of the iconic Adelaide Oval.
Pavlyuchenkova is in Adelaide to compete in the Adelaide International, her final warm-up tournament ahead of the first Grand Slam of the year.
And the Russian starlet, who is ranked No. 30 for the Australian Open later this month, faced one of her biggest fears ahead of the Adelaide International as she scaled the roof of the famous stadium, which sits alongside the Memorial Drive Tennis Centre that hosts the tennis tournament.
"I'm super-scared of heights," admitted Pavluychenkova, who takes on Anett Kontaveit in the Round of 32 in Adalaide on Monday.
"It's a great challenge for me to try. I'm super-nervous and excited at the same time."
Also on rt.com Auckland Classic: Serena Williams wins first title in three years, donates prize money to Australian bushfire victims (VIDEO)And, after a nervy ascent, Pavluychenkova finally made it to the top of the roof, where she was invited to hang off a special rig, with her back to the famous Adelaide Oval pitch.
After "Taking on The Icon", Pavlyuchenkova said: "It was an awesome experience. I'm happy I've done it."
She'll be hoping facing her fears will help her play without fear as she completes her final warm-up tournament before the Australian Open, then heads to Melbourne to take on the best in the world in the first Grand Slam of 2020.
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