No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka passed a tricky test with flying colors in the US Open fourth round, coming from 3-1 down in the second set to defeat home hope Taylor Townsend 6-4, 6-3 in 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Two-time defending champion Sabalenka extended her winning streak in New York to 17 matches, and booked her place in her 17th career major quarterfinal — six of which have come at the US Open. She will need to win the title for a third straight year — and for Elena Rybakina to lose before the semifinals — to hold on to her position at the top of the PIF WTA Rankings.
Despite her ranking of No. 96, Townsend is a proven threat to the top names — especially at Flushing Meadows, where she has made the last 16 on three occasions. Two of her three career Top 10 wins have come at this tournament — over Simona Halep in 2019 and over Mirra Andreeva last year. This time, the 30-year-old was going for her biggest upset yet, and seeking her first major quarterfinal.
Townsend’s blend of power and variety has often been effective at disrupting opponents’ games, but this time it was Sabalenka who stayed poised to dismantle it as the match went on. The result marks Townsend’s third consecutive Grand Slam loss to the defending champion: she fell in the first round of Roland Garros to Coco Gauff and at the same stage of Wimbledon to Iga Swiatek.
Sabalenka will next face either Wimbledon champion and No. 6 seed Linda Noskova or No. 11 seed Marta Kostyuk in the last eight.
After tight moments, Sabalenka pulls away
For a set-and-a-half, the first encounter between the pair was relatively narrowly contested — though the manner in which it was tight was perhaps surprising. The first five games of the match, and seven of the opening set’s 10 games, were all breaks of serve: Sabalenka was focused and accurate on return, but lapsed into error behind her own delivery.
But the four-time major champion had the edge from the minute she scored the first hold, a dominant love game to move up 4-2. She was unable to close out a 5-2 lead at her first opportunity, but found one of her best forehand winners of the contest to break Townsend for the set.
Townsend continued to threaten at the start of the second set, landing an impressive forehand return blow to break for 3-1. But that proved to be more a last stand than the start of a fightback. Sabalenka conceded just five more points as she swept through the last five games in a row.
Ultimately, Sabalenka was able to ride out her struggles on serve to finish with an even tally of 14 winners to 14 unforced errors. But Townsend was unable to impose her strategy on the match to any sustained degree. She won just eight of 20 points at net, with a failed serve-and-volley attempt ending the contest on Sabalenka’s second match point. The only drop shot in the match was essayed by Sabalenka, and Townsend largely eschewed using the slice to break up the rhythm of rallies.
More to come…