New York, Aug. 28 -- Top seed Aryna Sabalenka overcame early jitters to secure a straight-sets victory over unseeded Russian Polina Kudermetova 7-6(4), 6-2, advancing to the third round of the US Open at Arthur Ashe Stadium today IST.
The defending champion, who is seeking to repeat her 2023 Flushing Meadows triumph, is chasing a rare feat.
Sabalenka, who has reached the Australian Open and French Open finals this year and the Wimbledon semifinals, admitted she struggled in the opening set. Broken in the first game, she steadied herself in the tiebreak, extending her season record in breakers to 19-1.
"The first set I was super tight, it was super aggressive. It was almost like there were no long rallies. I was glad I was able to handle ...