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by IANS |
Melbourne, Jan 21 (IANS) World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka eased into the third round of the Australian Open after beating Chinese qualifier Bai Zhuoxuan 6-3, 6-1 in 32 minutes on Wednesday.
It was a first meeting between Sabalenka and former World No. 83 Bai, who went through the wringer last year with injuries and arrived in Melbourne ranked world No. 702.
Wednesday’s win marked Sabalenka’s 25th singles match win as World No. 1 and made her the sixth player since 2000 to achieve the feat, following Serena Williams, Lindsay Davenport, Justine Henin, Ash Barty and Iga Swiatek.
The two-time champion Sabalenka recorded a seventh consecutive win to start 2026 with ease. She is now through to the third round of the Australian Open for the sixth year in a row. In addition to her 7-0 record to start 2026, she is also 7-0 in second-round matches in Melbourne.
On the back foot early, Bai was unable to generate enough pace to make inroads and was down 0-5 within 15 minutes.
A pair of aces helped her get on the board, and the World No.1’s vice-like grip on the opening set slipped slightly when she was broken while serving for the set.
Having fended off 25 of 38 break points in qualifying and the opening round, Bai survived three more in a near-10-minute game before Sabalenka stopped the rot, according to Australian Open reports.
The top seed wasn’t without her troubles, despite jumping to 4-0 again in the second, but her persistence in her game plan kept her on the straight and narrow as she closed it out in 74 minutes, setting up a third-round meeting against 28th seed Emma Raducanu or Anastasia Potapova.
Meanwhile, Elina Svitolina continued her hot start to the 2026 season with a second-round 7-5, 6-1 win over Linda Klimovicova.
She'll face another new opponent, Diana Shnaider, in the third round, and it is the first guaranteed seeded match of the tournament.
Shnaider saved two match points against Australian wildcard Talia Gibson in a comeback win, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.
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