Australian Open

Quarterfinals! Sabalenka continues to dominate

Aryna Sabalenka (right) hugs the defeated Mirra Andreeva.

(Bild: AP)

Aryna Sabalenka beat teenager Mirra Andreeva 6:1 and 6:2 on Sunday. The world number one is thus through to the quarter-finals of the Australian Open and is still on course for her third title in a row.

Andreeva, the world number 14, never got into her stride in the Rod Laver Arena, while Sabalenka steadily raised her level and extended her winning streak in Melbourne Park to 18 matches. 

No danger
Sabalenka, who lost to Andreeva in three sets in the quarter-finals of last year's French Open, held her serve even when there was a hint of danger and secured victory in just over an hour with a service winner.

"It's always difficult matches against Andreeva, she's so young but plays such good tennis," said the 26-year-old on court. "I'm super happy to have come through this difficult match in two sets." Sabalenka will face either Donna Vekic or Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in her 11th quarter-final in her last 13 Grand Slam tournaments, who meet later on Sunday.

"I'm more satisfied"
The Belarusian struggled with her serve in her third-round match and said she was much happier in the hot temperatures on Rod Laver Arena on Sunday. "I'm very happy with my level today and I hope the conditions stay like this for the rest of the tournament," she added.

Neither player conceded a point on their own serve in the first three games, but four forehand errors from Andreeva gave Sabalenka a break for 3:1. The top seed took the first set in 25 minutes. In the second set, she managed another break to make it 2:1 after Andreeva had double faulted twice. Andreeva managed to put Sabalenka's serve under pressure at 3:2, but an ace and a drop shot helped the US Open winner to fend off the only three break points she had in the competition.