LONDON: Second seed Aryna Sabalenka continued her march in direction of a second Grand Slam title this yr with a snug 6-Four 6-Zero victory over Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova on Monday to energy into the Wimbledon quarter-finals.
Each gamers have been absent from the event final yr after the grasscourt Grand Slam determined to ban gamers from Russia and its ally Belarus on account of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, which it calls a “particular navy operation”.
Belarusian Sabalenka mentioned she hoped to make up for misplaced time by persevering with her profitable run in London on her return.
“I am actually having fun with being right here,” Sabalenka mentioned. “I am tremendous completely satisfied to be again and I am actually having fun with each second on courtroom… I simply need to keep so long as I can so I can benefit from the environment.”
The usually aggressive Australian Open champion, who may probably exchange Iga Swiatek on the high of the world rankings by lifting the Venus Rosewater Dish, bagged the primary set with a late break, enjoying some delightfully delicate photographs on the web.
The 28-year-old Alexandrova had eased previous her Belarusian opponent of their earlier two conferences however a repeat was by no means on the playing cards below vibrant sunshine on Court docket One as Sabalenka pounced early within the second set for a 4-Zero lead.
Serving with energy and precision, the 2021 semi-finalist tightened her grip on the match with a stable maintain and closed out the competition when fast-fading 21st seed Alexandrova despatched a shot lengthy on the baseline.
“I believe it was an ideal match, I am tremendous proud of this win. She’s a extremely robust opponent to play,” mentioned Sabalenka, who fell to Alexandrova within the ‘s-Hertogenbosch ultimate final yr.
“I am proud of the extent I performed immediately.”
Sabalenka, 25, who has dropped one set within the event up to now, faces American 25th seed Madison Keys within the final eight.
“It is at all times a troublesome battle,” mentioned Sabalenka, who beat Keys within the Berlin final 16 in 2021 to stage their tour-level head-to-head report at 1-1. “I am actually wanting ahead to it.”
Each gamers have been absent from the event final yr after the grasscourt Grand Slam determined to ban gamers from Russia and its ally Belarus on account of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, which it calls a “particular navy operation”.
Belarusian Sabalenka mentioned she hoped to make up for misplaced time by persevering with her profitable run in London on her return.
“I am actually having fun with being right here,” Sabalenka mentioned. “I am tremendous completely satisfied to be again and I am actually having fun with each second on courtroom… I simply need to keep so long as I can so I can benefit from the environment.”
The usually aggressive Australian Open champion, who may probably exchange Iga Swiatek on the high of the world rankings by lifting the Venus Rosewater Dish, bagged the primary set with a late break, enjoying some delightfully delicate photographs on the web.
The 28-year-old Alexandrova had eased previous her Belarusian opponent of their earlier two conferences however a repeat was by no means on the playing cards below vibrant sunshine on Court docket One as Sabalenka pounced early within the second set for a 4-Zero lead.
Serving with energy and precision, the 2021 semi-finalist tightened her grip on the match with a stable maintain and closed out the competition when fast-fading 21st seed Alexandrova despatched a shot lengthy on the baseline.
“I believe it was an ideal match, I am tremendous proud of this win. She’s a extremely robust opponent to play,” mentioned Sabalenka, who fell to Alexandrova within the ‘s-Hertogenbosch ultimate final yr.
“I am proud of the extent I performed immediately.”
Sabalenka, 25, who has dropped one set within the event up to now, faces American 25th seed Madison Keys within the final eight.
“It is at all times a troublesome battle,” mentioned Sabalenka, who beat Keys within the Berlin final 16 in 2021 to stage their tour-level head-to-head report at 1-1. “I am actually wanting ahead to it.”
