Sabalenka Breezes Into Next Round At US Open To Again Virtually Take Over World No. 1 Spot

| by Evita Mueller

Aryna Sabalenka is in the 4th round of the 2023 US Open after smashing French player Clara Burel in two simple sets.

Sabalenka entered this match as a huge favourite because Burel simply isn't a player who is capable of staying with some of the best players in the world. Even this run to the 3rd round was pretty much more than anybody expected out of Burel, so she'll be fine with this loss.

Sabalenka established dominance from the first point, dominating from the baseline easily. Burel being unable to hit her first serve early only added to that, as the Belarusian saw plenty of slow serves, making it easy to dominate the rallies.

The opening set lasted 26 minutes and saw Sabalenka win 6-1. The Belarusian had 12 winners and seven unforced errors. Burel matched her in the unforced errors department with seven but failed to do that with the winners having only 4.

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Every win gets Sabalenka closer to finally getting the number one rank, but it's not something she thinks about. For her, it's one match at a time to the final to get the trophy, as anything else is simply a bonus. Sabalenka had a chance to open the second set with a break, but Burel hung on.

It didn't last long as the Belarusian eventually got the break she needed and cruised from there. Burel had the same issues in the second set. She served poorly to start once more but benefitted from Sabalenka missing more than before.

Once those things settled, the match concluded rather swiftly. The final score was 6-1 6-1 for Sabalenka, who blasted 21 winners. She also had 20 unforced errors, but it didn't matter much as Burel posted a 6-winner 19 unforced error line.

She will face either Daria Kasatkina or Greet Minnen in the next round.

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