BEIJING -- World No.2 Aryna Sabalenka won her 14th consecutive match to advance to the China Open Round of 16, defeating Ashlyn Krueger 6-2, 6-2 on Monday.
Beijing: Scores | Order of Play | Draws
The reigning Australian Open and US Open champion is bidding to win her second straight WTA-1000 title this week, having kicked off her current streak during her title run at Cincinnati in August.
"Maybe right now I'm not playing my best, best tennis," Sabalenka said, "but I think the way I'm controlling my emotions and the way I'm holding myself sometimes really helping me to stay in most of the matches, in those difficult situations to keep fighting and keep playing my best tennis."
Sabalenka will face No.18 seed Madison Keys for a spot in the quarterfinals. Keys overpowered 13th seed and Seoul champion Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-3, 6-3 earlier in the day.
800 - Aryna Sabalenka has now registered 800 winners in WTA-1000 tournaments during 2024. Power. #ChinaOpen | @ChinaOpen @WTA @WTA_insider pic.twitter.com/khcZMXjBUL
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) September 30, 2024
The numbers surrounding Sabalenka's red-hot form on China's hard courts:
15: The length of Sabalenka's longest career win streak, compiled between Ostrava 2020 and Abu Dhabi 2021. A win over Keys in her next round would tie that mark.
48: Match wins so far in 2024, sitting second on tour behind World No.1 Iga Swiatek (57).
39: Number of wins in China since Sabalenka played her China debut at 2017 Tianjin. No player has won more matches in China.
80: Sabalenka is the only player in the Open Era to register a winning percentage above 80 percent in Hologic WTA Tour events held in China (81.3%, 39-9).
86: Sabalenka's win percentage at WTA 1000 tournaments in China, the best mark in the tour's history. Serena Williams has the next-best win rate at 84.6 percent.
4: Titles won in China, earning her the nickname "Daughter of China" from fans. She has won titles at 2019 Zhuhai, 2019 Wuhan, 2019 Shenzhen, and 2018 Wuhan. She is trying to win her first Beijing title this week, having never progressed past the quarterfinals.
"I played so many tournaments in China and I played really well in most of them," Sabalenka told reporters. "The stats are impressive in China. I can assume it's the fried rice that probably does that magic.
"I love playing in China. I love the conditions. I love the crowd. It's really great atmosphere. It feels like the tennis community became bigger here, more people watching us playing. It's really amazing to see."
Head to Head
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1: Loss this season to a player outside the Top 50 on the PIF WTA Rankings. With her win over No.64 Krueger, Sabalenka improved to 19-1 against sub-50 opposition. Her sole loss came to No.132 Amanda Anisimova at Toronto, which was also her last loss before her current undefeated form.
14: Hologic WTA Tour titles won by Sabalenka on hard courts. She has won just two others, both coming on the clay at Madrid.
2: Has won a tournament as the top seed just twice in her career, at 2018 Shenzhen and 2020 Linz. This week, she is playing as the top seed for the 18th time in her career.
