Australian Open: Sabalenka trounces Tsurenko; Gauff eases past Parks

Melbourne, Jan 19 (IANS) Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka moved into the final 16 with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Lesia Tsurenko in Rod Laver Arena on Friday.

Sabalenka, who claimed her first Grand Slam title 12 months ago Down Under, needed just 52 minutes to double-bagel 28th-seeded Tsurenko and win her 10th straight match in Melbourne.

Sabalenka is the first woman to reel off 10 consecutive wins at the Australian Open since Serena Williams from 2017 to 2019.

The 25-year-old is the first woman to reel off 10 consecutive wins at the Australian Open since Serena Williams from 2017 to 2019.

Despite her recent dominance at the Australian Open, Sabalenka will have to be focused in her next match when she faces an opponent she has historically struggled against -- Amanda Anisimova of the United States.

Anisimova has beaten Sabalenka in four of their five career meetings. Their first clash came at the 2019 Australian Open, which Anisimova won 6-3, 6-2 to reach that year's Round of 16.

In other match, Coco Gauff swiped aside compatriot and one-time childhood training partner Alycia Parks to reach the fourth round.

After surviving an early scare to fend off another American Caroline Dolehide in the previous round, the fourth seed had no such difficulties this time as she surged through 6-0 6-2.

Gauff will now take on either Magdalena Frech or qualifier Anastasia Zakharova for a place in the quarterfinals.

With her win over Parks, t19-year-old Gauff extended her win streak at the Grand Slams to 10 consecutive matches dating back to her triumphant title run in New York last fall. She is the fifth teenager since 2000 to win 10 consecutive matches at Grand Slam events, joining Serena Williams, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Maria Sharapova and Iga Swiatek , WTA reports.

In the Open Era, she is also only the fourth American teenager to win 10 consecutive Grand Slam singles matches, after Chris Evert, Tracy Austin and Serena Williams.

Gauff remains undefeated in the new season, moving her record to 8-0. She has lost just one set this year.