Aryna Sabalenka wrestled her way past Clara Tauson to reach the last 16 of the Australian Open. (Day Blog | Full Coverage | Tennis News)
The wor🎶ld number one was made to work on Friday in a contest that lasted over two hours at Rod Laver Arena, but prevailed 7-5 (7-5) 6-4.
Tauson, who won 𒆙the Auckland Open title earlier in January after Nao🎃mi Osaka retired hurt from the final, broke Sabalenka four times in the opening set.
Yet the Dane saw four set points on Sabalenka's serve pass he♊r by, opening the door for the top seed to take the edge through a tiebreak.
Sabalenka took the early break in set two, and though Tauson responded, the defendingও champion in Melbourne hit st𝄹raight back.
Tauson had break point at 40-30 up in the final game, but Sabalenka just had🐼 too much, and a superb backhand winner secu🍸red her passage into the last 16.
The Belarusian will next face eit🦩her Magdalena Frech or teenage sensation🥂 Mirra Andreeva, who she lost to in the semi-finals at Roland-Garros in 2024 but beat en route to winning the title in Brisbane this month.
Data Debrief: Sure-fire Sabalenka
Sabalenka has become the first player to reach the last 16 in the women's singles at the Australian Open in five successive♍ sea♋sons since Simona Halep between 2018 and 2022.
Only Iga Swiatek (15) has reach𓆉ed the round of 16 at more grand slams than Sabalenka (13) since the start of th♓e 2020 season.
