Sabalenka into French Open last eight after powering past Anisimova

Karolos Grohmann, in PARIS – World number one Aryna Sabalenka was briefly troubled in the first set before battling past 16th-seed Amanda Anisimova 7-5 6-3 on Sunday to reach the French Open quarter-finals and improve her losing record against the American.

The Belarusian three-time Grand Slam champion, who now has more match straight set wins this year (33) than any other player has tour wins, will take on China's seventh-seed Zheng Qinwen in the quarter-finals.

"She is a great player, a tough one," Sabalenka said in a post-match interview.

"We had tough battles in the past. Honestly I was so focused, put as much pressure on her, change some rhythm. I am super happy with the win. She challenged me a lot."

Sabalenka is now the first player to reach the quarter-finals in 10 consecutive Grand Slams since Serena Williams between 2014-17.

"I am super hungry for this tournament. I want to stay until the very last day," she said.

The top seed went into the match with a 2-5 win-loss record against the 16th-seed Anisimova and a 1-3 record on clay in their previous matches.

She broke the American twice to race to a 4-1 lead.

The 27-year-old Sabalenka, who has never won the French Open, carved out a set point on her serve at 5-3 but Anisimova, a semi-finalist in Paris in 2019, hung in to level before her opponent recovered to win the first set.

The top seed then powered to a 3-0 lead, with Anisimova landing a warning for throwing her racket as her frustration boiled over.

Sabalenka racked up the pressure, firing three aces to move 5-2 clear but Anisimova, with her back to the wall, valiantly saved six match points to hold.

She saved another on her opponent's serve but Sabalenka finished the job on the eighth opportunity with a fierce backhand down the line.

Reuters