No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus defeated Russia’s Anna Blinkova 6-2, 6-3 on Saturday to reach the Round of 16 at Wimbledon.
Sabalenka saved five of seven break points during an up-and-down performance, finishing the 81-minute match with nine aces and eight double faults as well as 30 winners and 26 unforced errors.
“It was definitely better tennis than yesterday,” said Sabalenka, who had to rally for a 2-6, 7-5, 6-2 win against France’s Varvara Gracheva in the second round.
“It was a tough game. She played really well,” Sabalenka said of Blinkova. “I am super happy I was able to win it.”
The reigning Australian Open champion and 2023 French Open semifinalist improved to 15-1 in grand slam events this season.
Sabalenka will face No. 21 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia for a spot in the quarterfinals. Alexandrova never faced a break point and converted four of five break chances in a 6-0, 6-4 win against Hungary’s Dalma Galfi.
No. 9 seed Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic moved closer to a third Wimbledon title with a 6-3, 7-5 third-round victory against Serbian qualifier Natalija Stevanovic. The 2011 and 2014 champion trailed 5-4 in the second set before winning 10 straight points, ultimately putting away Stevanovic on her fourth match point.
Kvitova’s fourth-round opponent will be No. 6 seed Ons Jabeur of Tunisia, who rallied to defeat Canada’s Bianca Andreescu 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
No. 13 Beatriz Haddad Maia eased to a 6-2, 6-2 win over Romania’s Sorana Cirstea, finishing with 23 winners and 11 unforced errors competed to 22 winners and 30 errors for Cirstea.
The Brazilian will play defending champion and No. 3 seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, who defeated Great Britain’s Katie Boulter 6-1, 6-1 in 57 minutes.
No. 25 seed Madison Keys moved into the tournament’s second week with a 6-4, 6-1 win against Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine. Keys, who has not dropped a set through three matches, saved 10 of 11 break points and finished with a 24-8 edge in winners. She broke Kostyuk five times, the last one to close out the victory.
Keys’ next opponent will be either No. 22 seed Anastasia Potapova or 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva, both of Russia.
–Field Level Media
