Sabalenka Overcomes Difficult Townsend to Reach US Open Quarterfinals

5:03 PM ETDeveloping

Sports Desk

In Short: Aryna Sabalenka found her groove and regained confidence to defeat Taylor Townsend 6-4, 6-3, setting up a clash with Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova or Marta Kostyuk for a spot in the semifinals.

Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka overpowered Taylor Townsend to reach the quarterfinals of the US Open, overcoming early struggles to win 6-4, 6-3. Townsend broke Sabalenka three times in the first four service games, but Sabalenka recovered to secure the victory.

Basically, I was just trying to stay focused on myself and play not only point by point but ball by ball,' Sabalenka said after the match. 'I’m happy to be through this really tough opponent.

The match featured 10 breaks of serve and was a resilient display from Sabalenka, who also had the vast majority of the crowd against her. Despite the straightforward scoreline, it was a tricky contest that required a strong performance from the Belarusian.

No women's player has claimed more singles wins at the US Open than Sabalenka since her main-draw debut in 2018, and she is now three wins away from matching Serena Williams' feat of winning three US Open titles in a row.

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Sabalenka found a groove, regained her confidence and won 6-4, 6-3.
Aryna Sabalenka overcomes Taylor Townsend to set up clash with Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova or Marta Kostyuk for a spot in the semifinals.
“I’m happy that I was able to turn it around in that second set.” This was the first meeting between Sabalenka and Townsend, who gave her opponent fits in the first set but struggled to find her own rhythm.
The match began with five successive breaks of serve - mostly due to excellent returning by both players - but it was Sabalenka who finally took charge.
That signalled the start of Sabalenka's dash to the finish line.
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Sabalenka, 28, is the first woman to reach six consecutive singles quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows since American great Williams in 2016.
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