Sabalenka routs Andreeva for 18th straight Australian Open win

World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka rolled into her third straight Australian Open quarterfinal with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Mirra Andreeva on Sunday in Melbourne, her 18th consecutive win at the tournament.

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Two-time defending champion Sabalenka, who lost to Andreeva in their only prior meeting at a major -- Roland Garros last spring -- broke the 17-year-old's serve four times and never lost her own en route to improving to 4-1 in the head-to-head overall. Taking advantage of quick conditions inside Rod Laver Arena in the midday sunshine, Sabalenka hit 15 winners to 11 unforced errors, and also served three aces. 

"It's always tough matches against Mirra; she's so young but so mature and playing such great tennis," Sabalenka said post-match. "I'm super happy to get through this difficult match in straight sets.

"Today, I came out on the court and I was trying to put the ball back and the ball was flying like a rocket. I was super happy with the level today, and I hope conditions help me and I hope it's going to be the same until the end of the tournament."

Sabalenka will face No.27 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the quarterfinals. A finalist at Roland Garros in 2021, Pavlyuchenkova is into her fourth Australian Open quarterfinal and first since 2020 by besting No.18 seed Donna Vekic 7-6(0), 6-0. She leads the head-to-head over Sabalenka 2-1, with their last meeting coming in 2021 en route to the French Open final. 

More standout numbers from Sabalenka's fourth-round win included:

2: Two of Sabalenka's win against Andreeva have come in the season's first three weeks. She also defeated her in the semifinals in Brisbane on her way to winning the title two weeks ago.

3: Sabalenka saved all three break points she faced in the match, all of which came in the sixth game of the second set. It was the only game on Sabalenka's serve to reach deuce.

9: Sabalenka is now 9-0 to start her season, and her 18-match winning streak at Melbourne Park has tied Victoria Azarenka for the longest at the Australian Open this decade.

11: Since 2020, Sabalenka has now reached the quarterfinals or better at 11 of the 15 Grand Slam tournaments that she's played in -- including nine in a row.

24: After not losing a set en route to winning the title a year ago, and coming from a set down to defeat Elena Rybakina in the 2023 final, Sabalenka has now won two dozen straight sets in Melbourne.