Aryna Sabalenka shall be current on the spherical of 16 at Roland-Garros.
The Belarusian unceremoniously defeated her pal Paula Badosa (WTA 139) 7-5 6-1 on Saturday within the third spherical. She has solely missed 13 video games to this point this fortnight.
‘It is at all times laborious to play in opposition to your finest pal. However we separate issues and I do not take a look at who’s in entrance of me: I simply attempt to play my finest,’ stated Sabalenka, the world No. 2 and double Grand Slam winner (Australian Open 2023 and 2024).
The 26-year-old Belarusian will face American Emma Navarro (WTA 24) on Monday for a spot within the quarter-finals. She reached the semi-finals final 12 months on the clay of Paris, so she went past the third spherical stage at Porte d’Auteuil for the primary time.
On Saturday, the breaks within the first set elevated, till Badosa was main 5-3. From there, Sabalenka misplaced just one recreation of the match, notably profitable an eight-game set to pocket the primary set and escaping 4-0 within the second. She completed by bringing Badosa into play for the seventh and ultimate time, on the fourth match level.
/ATS