Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus poses with the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Trophy on a gondola in the Royal Botanical Gardens the morning after defeating Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan in the women's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Holder Aryna Sabalenka wasted absolutely no time in burying Lesia Tsurenko 6-0, 6-0 on Friday to reach the Australian Open fourth round.
The invincible second seed spent just 55 minutes on court as she hammered home her double-bagel win over the Ukrainian ranked 33rd.
Sabalenka starts the business end of the 15-day major with just six games lost in three matches.
She will next line up against American Anisimova, who profitted from a mental health break which she took last season as she defeated former world No. 2 Paula Badosa 7-5 6-4, pounding out 40 winners.
“Paula is a very tough competitor. I had to dig deep. My stomach was starting to hurt in the last game of the match again. I’m happy I was able to finish,” Anisimova said.
“I was having bad stomach cramps, I just felt like I was going to throw up. It was a tricky situation, but I think the medical time-out helped me throughout the second set.
“I was still playing well, I was just trying to take my time.”
The Russian-born player earned her first spot in a Grand Slam fourth round for the first time in a year after taking a tennis pause last May to take up painting.
“The most important thing is I’m just enjoying my time out here,” Anisimova said.
“Taking a step away and just resetting myself, it gave me a different perspective going into these tournaments.”
The No. 442 who once stood 21st in the world and reached the 2019 Roland Garros semi-finals has reached the fourth round here for the third time after trailing 4-1 in the opening set.
She last won three matches in a row at Wimbledon, 2022.
Sabalenka is trying to become the first woman to defend the title here since Victoria Azarenka during 2012-2013.
Sabalenka produced the first love-love result of her Tour career and was satisfied with the effort.
“I’m just super-happy with the level I’m playing so far… hopefully it can keep going like this – or maybe better.
“I’m pleased with the win.”
With her losing record against Anisimova, Sabalenka will be taking the upcoming match extremely seriously.
“We’ve always had tough battles, I’m looking forward to a fight.”
Defending US Open champion Coco Gauff, the fourth seed, needed just 14 games and 63 minutes to dispatch American compatriot Alycia Parks 6-0, 6-2.
Teenaged prodigy Mirra Andreeva made a massive comeback to overhaul France’s Diane Parry 1-6, 6-1, 7-6 (10-5) to break fresh Grand Slam ground at age 16.
The youngster stayed cool under pressure as she won five straight games from 1-5 in the third set before her opponent rallied to take it into a 10-point match tiebreak.
No. 47 Andreeva ran off a 7-2 lead in the decider, advancing to the fourth round on her second match point as Parry drove a forehand long.
Main photo:- 2023 title holder Aryna Sabalenka with her spoils
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