World number 1 Aryna Sabalenka rose brilliantly to the quarterfinals on Sunday, her 18th victory in a row in Melbourne, while Coco Gauff (3rd), also qualified, dropped her first set since November.
Double title holder in Melbourne, Aryna Sabalenka, imperial against the young Russian Mirra Andreeva (15th), was on Sunday the first player to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Australian Open. The Belarusian, winner of the Brisbane tournament at the beginning of January, won (6-1, 6-2) in just over an hour on the court of the Rod Laver Arena, signing her 9th victory in a row since the start of the season. The world number 1 will face the Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (32nd), who beat the Croatian Donna Vekic (19th) on Sunday in two sets, to try to secure a place in the last four. The Belarusian affirmed at a press conference that her laborious success in the 3rd round against the Dane Clara Tauson had helped her. “When you have to overcome a lot of obstacles and still win the whole match, it gives you so much confidence for the next one”she said. After the first rounds played in the unusual coolness of Melbourne, Sabalenka this time won in the sweltering heat of the Australian summer. “The last few days the ball was super heavy. Today (Sunday) the ball was flying like a rocket”welcomed the world number 1.
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