Aryna Sabalenka fought past her first challenge at this year's US Open by recovering from a set down against Ekaterina Alexandrova.
The world No. 2's victory at the Cincinnati Open heading into the US Open and previous Grand Slam hard court success at the Australian Open, where she has won two titles, meant many consider her the favorite on the women's side.
Martina Navratilova is one of those who argues that Sabalenka is the favorite, saying she has a crucial advantage over world No. 1 Iga Swiatek, who lifted the title at Flushing Meadows in 2022.
Sabalenka gave credence to that view in the opening two rounds. She laid down a marker against Priscilla Hon in the opening round before getting an even easier victory against Elisabetta Cocciaretto.
Alexandrova fought through two very tough matches to reach the third round, winning her battles against Viktoriya Tomova and Iva Jovic 7-5 in the third set. The energy expended in those matches made competing with Sabalenka more challenging.
However, the No. 29 seed settled into the match quickly on her serve. She also competed with her illustrious opponent in the rallies, looking more solid and hanging with the two-time Australian Open champion more than most expected.
Sabalenka, possibly because of the shock of how well Alexandrova was playing, suddenly began to hit uncharacteristic unforced errors. Her usually accurate groundstrokes were repeatedly going long or into the net.
There was shocked silence on Arthur Ashe Stadium when Sabalenka lost five games in a row to lose the set 2-6. It seemed like another upset was possible after the opening match on the stadium saw Novak Djokovic lose to Alexei Popyrin.
Both women worked hard to win their opening service games. Sabalenka seemed to have shifted the momentum of the match when she held from break point down, but Alexandrova also saved chances to break her in the following game.
But the match did swing Sabalenka's way from 1-1 in the second set. Suddenly, Her powerful hitting found its range. Alexandrova did not do much wrong; she could not cope with the newfound intensity of her higher-ranked opponent.
Sabalenka's game on a hard court is the best in women's tennis when it is flowing, and she proved that in the final two sets. The Belarusian's return was even more impressive than her baseline hitting, repeatedly landing first-serve returns at Alexandrova's feet.
The Cincinnati Open champion repeated Alexandrova's feat of claiming the final five games of the second set to secure it 6-1. The match was only going in one direction from that point.
Sabalenka's game somehow got even better in the opening five games of the third set. By contrast, Alexandrova's body language shifted to being quite negative. It was clear she knew the match was out of her reach.
To Alexandrova's credit, she rallied from 0-5 down and avoided losing the final 11 games of the match by winning two in a row to take the score to 2-5, producing some of the impressive tennis seen in the opening set.
Unfortunately for Alexandrova, it only delayed the inevitable. Sabalenka served out the match at the second time of asking to complete a 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory.
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