By Janina Nuno Rios
NEW YORK, Sept 4 (Reuters) – Two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka continued her imposing run at the U.S. Open with a composed 6-3 6-4 victory over Kamilla Rakhimova in the third round on Friday, extending her bid for a fifth Grand Slam title.
Sabalenka opened play on a sweltering morning at Flushing Meadows and wasted little time making her intentions clear, breaking early to seize control and never looking back as she wrapped up the opening set.
“It’s the first time I play morning session and it’s a full stadium, I’m so grateful, it’s a dream,” a smiling Sabalenka said on court.
The world number one unleashed her trademark power from the start, producing a dominant serving display with 10 aces and no break points faced, while dropping just four points on her first serve.
“I felt great. The statistic was insane. At some point I saw on the screen it was 100% first serve. I was, like, Oh, wow,” Sabalenka later told reporters. “I’m pretty happy. Of course.”
The only hitch for Sabalenka during the opener came when a strong smell of cannabis drifted on to the Louis Armstrong Stadium court, briefly disrupting play as she alerted umpire Eva Asderaki-Moore.
In the second set, Sabalenka found herself having to work harder for her holds as Rakhimova shook off the tension and made the top seed earn her way through her service games, while saving four break points of her own.
But Sabalenka eventually found the opening she needed, producing a blistering return to earn the decisive break before serving out the victory.
“She played incredible in the second set, push me so hard and motivate me to bring out my best,” Sabalenka added. “I’m happy I closed this match in two sets.”
Sabalenka, who has now won 16 straight matches at the U.S. Open, is seeking to become the first woman since Serena Williams, who won three straight titles from 2012 to 2014, to complete a hat-trick of U.S. Open crowns.
FEELING LIKE HOME
Her sustained success in the last Grand Slam of the season has helped to make the hard courts of Flushing Meadows a particularly comfortable setting.
“I just love New York and probably that makes me feel like home here,” Sabalenka said. “I would say probably out of all of them, maybe I’m more comfortable here.”
She will next face American Taylor Townsend or Russia’s Diana Shnaider, setting up the possibility of another test against an American backed by the home crowd or a rematch with Shnaider, who beat Sabalenka in the French Open quarter-finals.
Sabalenka said she was prepared for the prospect of a partisan crowd.
“It’s so obvious that they’re going to support her more than me and why should they cheer for me rather than for their player?” she said.
“Now I have a better understanding and accepting the fact that they’re going to cheer against me. I’m also pretty good with, like, shut down the noises from the outside.”
(Reporting by Janina Nuno Rios in New York; editing by Clare Fallon)
Comments