No.2 seed Aryna Sabalenka added another Grand Slam quarterfinal appearance to her career total with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over No.33 seed Elise Mertens at the US Open on Sunday night.
US Open: Scores | Draw | Order of play
Last year’s runner-up Sabalenka needed 1 hour and 37 minutes to ease past Belgium’s Mertens and seal a spot in her fourth straight US Open quarterfinal. Along with her run to the 2023 final, Sabalenka posted semifinal results in New York City in both 2021 and 2022.
Sabalenka keeps elite company with this result. The World No.2 becomes the first woman to make four consecutive US Open quarterfinals since Serena Williams made six in a row between 2011 and 2016.
“The crowds are amazing,” Sabalenka said, reflecting on her run of success in Flushing Meadows. “I really enjoy playing on these big stadiums, feel all the support. I just don’t want to leave early here, you know. I just want to stay as long as I can and enjoy this beautiful court, beautiful atmosphere.”
Here are more facts and figures surrounding the Louis Armstrong Stadium showdown:
8: Sabalenka has reached the quarterfinals or better in the last eight Grand Slam tournaments she has contested. Her last loss in a Grand Slam Round of 16 was to Kaia Kanepi at the 2022 Australian Open; she hasn’t lost a match at the Australian Open since then, winning that Grand Slam title in each of the last two years.
6: Sabalenka becomes the sixth player since 2000 to reach the quarterfinals or better in eight consecutive Grand Slam appearances. She joins Amelie Mauresmo, Jennifer Capriati, Justine Henin, Lindsay Davenport and Serena Williams on that list.
10: This is Sabalenka’s 10th time into the quarterfinals or better at a Grand Slam event, all of which have come in her last 12 Grand Slam appearances. It maintains a remarkable level of consistency for Sabalenka, who didn’t reach a major quarterfinal until 2021 Wimbledon, her 15th Grand Slam main-draw showing.
8: On Sunday, Sabalenka collected her eighth win over Mertens in their 10 career meetings, repeating her win from the same round at the 2021 US Open. Mertens becomes the first player Sabalenka has beaten eight times.
2: Sabalenka and Mertens are also quite familiar with each other on the same side of the net. They were a formidable doubles partnership in the past, winning two Grand Slam titles together: the 2019 US Open and 2021 Australian Open.
27: Sunday’s victory marked Sabalenka’s 27th hard-court match-win this year. Only Emma Navarro (29) and Iga Swiatek (28) have won more tour-level hard-court matches in 2024.
91: Sabalenka dominated the first set, coming into net 11 times and winning 10 of those points (91 percent). She had 18 winners to Mertens’ five in the opener.
0-8: Former World No.12 Mertens made things much more competitive in the second set, but the Belgian was never able to overturn the Sabalenka serve. Mertens went 0-for-8 on break points in the match as Sabalenka powered her way back into familiar territory at a Slam.
“It was a really tough match, especially in the second set,” Sabalenka said. “She stepped in, and she started to play a little bit better than the first set. I’m really glad that I was able to finish this match in straight sets.”
