WHAT HAPPENED: No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka slammed 41 winners to power her way past No. 33 seed Elise Mertens, 6-2, 6-4, in 97 minutes to advance to the US Open quarterfinals for the fourth consecutive year.
Sabalenka quickly set the tempo Sunday evening in Louis Armstrong Stadium as she broke Mertens in the first game of the opening set. Mertens was unable to handle the power and pace of Sabalenka's aggressive baseline game and could not get back on serve. Leading 4-2, Sabalenka confidently broke Mertens at love to increase her lead to 5-2. Sabalenka, who slugged 18 winners in the set, saved two break points in the eighth game and served out the set, which took 34 minutes.
The second set proved to be more competitive as Mertens began to put more balls in play and hold serve, but at 2-2, Sabalenka broke Mertens for the third time as she blasted a down-the line-forehand winner on break point. Later in the set, Sabalenka fought back from 0-40 and won five straight points to hold serve for a 5-3 lead. Mertens held in the next game to stay in the match, but Sabalenka served out the match in the tenth game to book her quarterfinal spot.
“I’m really glad that I was able to stay focused. [Mertens] played unbelievable tennis, especially in the second set. It was really tight,” Sabalenka said after her straight-sets victory. “Every game was back and forth. It could have gone one way or another. I’m really happy with this win. It was a high-quality match.”
Sabalenka, who did not drop serve, saved all eight break points she faced against Mertens.
WHAT IT MEANS: Sabalenka now has an 8-2 career head-to-head record against Mertens. After dropping two of their first three matches, which all took place in 2018, she has defeated the Belgian seven straight times. Today’s match marked their second US Open meeting. Sabalenka scored a 6-4, 6-1 Round 4 win over Mertens in 2021.
Playing in her seventh career US Open, Sabalenka improves her record at Flushing Meadows to 25-6. She will take on the winner of the Paris Olympics final rematch between No. 7 seed Zheng Qinwen of China and No. 24 seed Donna Vekic of Croatia in the quarterfinals.
MATCH POINT: Sabalenka became the first player to advance to four straight US Open quarterfinals since Serena Williams reached the quarterfinals six consecutive years from 2011 through 2016. She is attempting to become the first female player to win the Australian Open and US Open in the same year since Germany’s Angelique Kerber accomplished the feat in 2016.
Sabalenka has six career doubles titles to her credit, including the 2021 Australian Open and 2019 US Open when she teamed with—you guessed it—Mertens to win those two Grand Slam doubles championships.
"I know her quite well and we've played a lot of great battles against each other," Sabalenka said of the Belgian. "It's never easy facing her. She's a really tricky opponent. You know she's going to fight. I was just trying to stay aggressive and put her under pressure tonight. That match wasn't an easy one."
