MELBOURNE: With just six games lost in the competition thus far, defending champion Aryna Sabalenka easily defeated 28th seed Lesia Tsurenko on Friday, 6-0, 6-0, to advance to the Australian Open’s fourth round.
The second-seeded Belarusian, who captured her first Grand Slam championship in Melbourne the previous year, is aiming to become the first female champion to do so since her countrymate Victoria Azarenka accomplished the feat in 2013.
Wearing a striking red outfit, Sabalenka exhibited a fierce demeanor against the Ukrainian right from the start at Rod Laver Arena, winning in a mere 52 minutes.
“Last year (world number one) Iga (Swiatek) won so many sets 6-0 and this is one of the goals,” she stated. “I’m trying to get closer to her.”
Despite having a 1-1 record against her opponent going into the match, Tsurenko was unable to match Sabalenka’s devastating power and managed just a meager 11 points in the opening set, while the latter scored 27.
The narrative in the second set was comparable.
In the second game, Tsurenko had a chance to score two points on her own serve, but Sabalenka sealed the door and broke again.
She did not let up, smashing ten winners past her unlucky opponent in the set. When Tsurenko sent his forehand into the net, she broke for the third time to win the match.
