Double title holder in Melbourne and world number 1, Aryna Sabalenka beat the American Sloane Stephens (WTA 84) in straight sets in the first round of the Australian Open
The Belarusian won 6-3 6-2 in 1h11 and thus recorded a 5th victory in as many confrontations against the winner of the US Open 2017. In the next round, the native of Minsk will face the Spaniard Jessica Bouzas (54 ), who dominated Briton Sonay Kartal (87) earlier in the evening on Sunday in Melbourne.
Winner of the WTA 500 in Brisbane at the beginning of January, Sabalenka (26) started the match with flying colors to lead 4-0 after a quarter of an hour of play. Stephens managed to erase her 2 breaks behind (4-3) but was immediately caught again by the world no. 1, who then easily won the last game of the set (6-3). The 2nd set was one-sided, Sabalenka quickly gaining 2 breaks in advance to win 6-2.
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