Slam champs Sabalenka, Vondrousova ease into US Open third round
NEW YORK -- Three 2023 Grand Slams down, one to go. Three different major winners -- will one of them grab a second?
The two not named Iga Swiatek
US Open 2023: Draw | Order of play | Scores | 411
No.2 Aryna Sabalenka
Sabalenka also leads all Hologic WTA Tour players with 624 winners amassed so far in the season’s four Grand Slam events, 28 of them coming against Burrage. Asked how she did it, Sabalenka wasn’t sure.
“We have to ask my fitness coach,” she told the Louis Armstrong Stadium crowd. “Too much weight lifting maybe?”
Burrage was part of a British barrage in the first round; women and men from the island nation went 7-0. The No.96-ranked Burrage did not face a break point in her upset of No.38 Anna Blinkova
Ultimately, that was the only break in the first set.
Sabalenka struck again -- literally -- pounding a 106 mph first serve for a backhand winner and a break in the fifth game of the second set. It happened again two games later and Sabalenka was well on her way to a stress-free victory. She finished with 28 winners, balanced by 21 unforced errors.
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Sabalenka is now 46-10 for the year, coming off semifinal appearances in Cincinnati (losing to Karolina Muchova
Burrage, who defeated No.4 Paula Badosa
Sabalenka says she tries not to think about it, but Swiatek’s No.1 ranking lies tantalizingly within reach; she needs to at least equal Swiatek’s result here to do it.
“It’s just a chance, first of all,” Sabalenka said. “It would mean a lot to me. It’s one of the goals and one of the dreams. I’ll do my best to reach this dream.”
Vondrousova, now 36-12, is still basking in the afterglow of Wimbledon, where she won her first major title. She went 5-2 in Montreal and Cincinnati but those results were colored by who she lost to -- Gauff and Swiatek.
The 24-year-old Czech has found a rock-solid consistency this year. She has now won all 17 of her matches against lower-ranked players.
Trevisan, always a tricky opponent, achieved a degree of history in her first-round match over Yulia Putintseva
This was the first meeting with Vondrousova -- and it turned quickly.
She broke the No.58-ranked Italian to open the match and again when a forehand soared wide to make it 5-2. Vondrousova served out the 36-minute first set easily, blasting a forehand winner.
The second set began the same way, albeit in somewhat slower fashion. Vondrousova converted her fourth break opportunity of a 14-minute game when a Trevisan forehand missed. It was 3-0 when Trevisan hit another forehand into the net.
Trevisan finished with five double faults and 40 unforced errors -- 27 more than the cagey Vondrousova.
Next up for Sabalenka: Clara Burel
Vondrousova, who has more wins this season (36) than in any other in her career, is looking to match her best run in New York, a fourth-round berth in 2018.
As the Wimbledon champion, Vondrousova finds herself in the uncomfortable role of favorite. Is she embracing the added pressure?
“I’m trying to,” she said in her on-court interview. “It’s a tough position. I feel like everybody wants to beat me. I’m just happy to be here and play good tennis.”
