By the numbers: Sabalenka overcomes Tauson challenge at Australian Open

World No.1 and two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka prevailed in a power-hitting showdown at the Australian Open on Friday, fending off 42nd-ranked Clara Tauson of Denmark 7-6(5), 6-4 in their third-round match on Rod Laver Arena.

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In their first career meeting, top seed Sabalenka was down 5-3 in the opening set before battling past former Junior World No.1 Tauson in 2 hours and 6 minutes, booking her spot once again in the Round of 16 Down Under.

"She put me under pressure," Sabalenka said. "She played really great tennis under pressure, as well. It was great level from her. If she's going to continue working, improving herself, playing the way she played today, of course, she's going to be there [at the top level]." 

Sabalenka will face another rising player in the Round of 16. She will play No.14 seed Mirra Andreeva, who outlasted No.23 seed Magdalena Frech 6-2, 1-6, 6-2 and reached the Australian Open fourth round for the second straight year.

Sabalenka leads their head-to-head 3-1, but 17-year-old Andreeva got her win at a Grand Slam event -- last year's Roland Garros quarterfinals.

Here are facts and figures from Sabalenka's gripping clash with Tauson:

1: Sabalenka can still retain her World No.1 ranking after the Australian Open, but she needs to reach at least the semifinals to have a chance of holding onto that position following this event. Either she or Iga Swiatek will be No.1 coming out of Melbourne.

17: Sabalenka has now won 17 straight matches at the Australian Open, the most by any woman at this event since Victoria Azarenka won 18 straight in Melbourne between 2012 and 2014.

5: Sabalenka is also the first woman to make the Australian Open Round of 16 for five straight years since Simona Halep did it from 2018 through 2022.

7: However, for a hefty stretch of time on Friday, those numbers appeared to be in peril. The first seven games of the match were service breaks, and it was Tauson who held her delivery first to take a 5-3 lead and serve for the first set.

7: Indeed, 22-year-old Tauson came into Friday's match with confidence, riding a seven-match winning streak. After a couple of years struggling with injuries, Tauson is back inside the Top 50 and started 2025 by winning her third career title in Auckland two weeks ago.

4: Sabalenka, though, got back into the first set and grabbed four set points on the Tauson serve at 6-5. To the Dane's credit, Tauson found first serves on each of those occasions and held on to force a tiebreak.

63: Tauson's big hitting led her from 4-1 down to 5-4 up in the breaker, but two points later, Sabalenka cranked a backhand return winner to garner her fifth set point at 6-5. One more forehand winner from the World No.1 let her polish off a closely-contested set after 63 minutes.

13: Sabalenka took charge in a tight second set by battling through a 13-minute service break for a 5-4 lead. Serving for the match, Sabalenka had to stare down two more break points, but she wriggled out of that game and closed out the victory with a backhand winner.

39: That final shot was Sabalenka's 39th winner of the day, to 25 unforced errors. Tauson stayed competitive through the entire match, but ultimately her 26 winners were undone by 33 unforced errors.

Vekic, Pavlyuchenkova set fourth-round clash: Also on Friday, Donna Vekic and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova took very different paths into a Round-of-16 meeting. No.27 seed Pavlyuchenkova breezed past Laura Siegemund 6-1, 6-2 to reach the Melbourne fourth round for the fourth time.

No.18 seed Vekic, on the other hand, had to battle for just under three hours before besting No.12 seed Diana Shnaider 7-6(4), 6-7(3), 7-5. Shnaider served for the match at 5-3 in the third set, but Vekic grinded out the next four games in a row and squeaked out the victory.

Pavlyuchenkova has a 2-0 head-to-head lead over Vekic, with both wins coming in straight sets, including in last year's Australian Open first round.

Badosa outlasts Kostyuk: In another Top 20 matchup, No.11 seed Paula Badosa of Spain edged No.17 seed Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to make the fourth round. Badosa now has a 4-1 head-to-head lead over last year's Australian Open quarterfinalist Kostyuk.

"I'm always a player that I need matches to feel better, to play my game," Badosa said. "I think with these three matches, it helps. Now really looking forward to the second week, and I know now the level will be even higher, better players. So I'm ready for the challenge."