MELBOURNE, Australia — Aryna Sabalenka reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, coming within three wins of a feat not seen by a woman since the 1990s.
The two-time defending champion extended her winning streak at Melbourne Park to 18 matches with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over 14th seed Mirra Andreeva in Sunday’s opener at the Rod Wash Arena.
Martina Hingis is the last woman to win three consecutive Australian Open singles titles, between 1997 and 1999.
Sabalenka celebrated her victory by hugging Andreeva, waving to the crowd, capturing the moment with her Polaroid camera and flashing a thumbs-up.
She has now won 24 consecutive sets in Melbourne.
“I’m super happy to get through this tough match in two sets,” she said. The meeting lasted a little over an hour.
-Aside from the fifth game of the second set, where Sabalenka faced three break points but Andreeva managed to win five straight points to hold serve, Sabalenka dominated the match. The world number one didn’t face a break point until the middle of the second set, where she managed to save three balls in one game, testing her fielding under pressure.
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Sabalenka Dominates Andreeva in Australian Open Triumph
On the women’s side, No. 3 Coco Gauff, who has won all 16 sets she has played this year, was scheduled to face Tokyo Olympic champion Belinda Bencic in the second match on the Rod Laver on Day 8.
On the men’s side, No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz faced Jack Draper in the afternoon, while Novak Djokovic continued his quest for a 25th Grand Slam singles title in a night match against Jiri Lehecka.
