London, July 6 -- The world number one Aryna Sabalenka marched into the quarterfinals of Wimbledon, defeating world number 19 Elise Mertens in her round of 16 match.

Sabalenka defeated her former doubles partner, Elise, with whom she won her first Grand Slam title six years back at the US Open, with a margin of 6-4, 7-6 (4), in the fourth round at the All England Club. Sabalenka has now secured wins in 11 out of 13 matches against Elise.

Sabalenka, the US Open champion, is the only one of the top six seeds left in the women's draw.

The 27-year-old missed last year's Wimbledon due to injury and was banned in 2022 as part of a blanket suspension on Russian and Belarusian athletes due to the invasion of Ukraine.

Now a three-time Grand Sl...