They say a true sign of a champion is how they compete when they’re not at their best – they always find a way.

That was the case for Aryna Sabalenka on Thursday, as she dusted off some of the cobwebs,after nearly four weeks without competition, to produce a battling 7-5, 6-3 performance against the tireless Peyton Stearns and get her title defence off to a winning start.

Sabalenka usually kicks off her clay-court campaign in Stuttgart before coming to the Mutua Madrid Open – a place where she has enjoyed so much success, lifting the trophy three times in the last five editions.

This year, the world No.1 has been carefully selecting the various stops on her schedule, realising this sport is a marathon and not a sprint.

She opted out of the Middle East swing in February, and delayed the start to her clay season by skipping Stuttgart. They are decisions that have clearly paid off as she enters the third round at the Caja Magica riding a 13-match winning streak and carrying a remarkable 24-1 win-loss record for the season.

But having spent nearly four weeks away from the competition court, Sabalenka was understandably still finding her feet on the clay when she took on Stearns on Manolo Santana Stadium on Thursday.

She fired 26 unforced errors – including five double faults – and was not at her clinical best on the break points, converting just four of the 12 opportunities she created on the Stearns serve.

Meanwhile, Stearns was doing what she does best – utilising her great movement to cover all inches of the court and draw the error from her opponent.

Sabalenka still had the upper hand in the end, wrapping up the win in 95 minutes to improve her record at the Caja Magica to 24-4. Only Petra Kvitova and Simona Halep have won more WTA matches at this venue.

“She’s a great player and I feel like this court suits her game really well,” said Sabalenka of the 43rd-ranked Stearns.

“I’m just glad that I got the win. Maybe not that beautiful, but I feel like by the end of the match I felt much better on court. So I really hope that in the next match I’ll bring better things.”

Before her next match against Romanian 29th seed Jaqueline Cristian, Sabalenka plans on catching up with her good friend Paula Badosa, who lost early in Madrid, before hitting the practice courts on Friday to finetune her game.

“Today was a fresh start for me. And it wasn’t that smooth and maybe the movement wasn’t that good. But I’m happy I got a win. And I’ll just do some extra stuff tomorrow. Make sure that in the next match I’ll be playing a little bit better,” said the four-time Grand Slam winner.

There is an air of confidence and cool to Sabalenka, both on and off the court, and it’s not just because she’s been winning a lot of matches – literally all but one of them. She recently got engaged to Brazilian businessman Georgios Frangulis, she got a new puppy, Ash, which she says has fast become a “tour dog, like a tour dog. He goes to the gym, he runs to the players, he gets his cuddles for everyone”, and she was crowned Sportswoman of the Year at the Laureus Awards on the eve of the Mutua Madrid Open.

That recognition meant a great deal to her.

“That was super special, especially seeing the previous winners to be next to those legends, I’m honoured,” Sabalenka said on court after her win over Stearns.

“It was a crazy experience, but also on the other side, there are so many amazing women across every sport, inspiring women, strong, powerful, doing really amazing things, and I’m the one who received this award. It seems like a dream.

“It was a super special moment. I really enjoyed it. I’m super proud, not only proud of me, but also proud of my team.”

It was certainly well-deserved!