No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka avoids the kind of upset at Wimbledon that has happened a lot this year

National Post

4 days ago

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LONDON — Aryna Sabalenka was just two points from dropping the opening set of her second-round Wimbledon match three times on Wednesday before asserting herself for a 7-6 (4), 6-4 victory over Marie Bouzkova to avoid the sort of surprise that has sent a group of seeded players home.
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Four of the top 10 women's seeds failed to make it out of the first round: No. 2 Coco Gauff, No. 3 Jessica Pegula, No. 5 Zheng Qinwen and No. 9 Paula Badosa. In all, a record-tying 23 seeded players — 10 women, 13 men — were gone by the end of Day 2, equaling the most at any Grand Slam event in the past 25 years.
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'Of course you're going to know the overall picture. … I hope it's no upsets anymore in this tournament,' the No. 1-ranked Sabalenka said afterward with a chuckle. 'If you know what I mean.'
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She is a three-time Grand Slam champion, with all of those titles coming on hard courts at the Australian Open or U.S. Open. She also was the runner-up to Gauff at the clay-court French Open last month — drawing criticism from some over her post-match comments, a flap she and Gauff set aside via social media videos last week — but hasn't been past the semifinals on the grass of the All England Club.
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A year ago, Sabalenka was forced to miss Wimbledon because of an injured shoulder.
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On Wednesday, the record-breaking heat of the first two days gave way to rain that delayed the start of play on smaller courts for about two hours, along with temperatures that dropped from above 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 Celsius) to below 68 F (20 C).
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At Centre Court, the 48th-ranked Bouzkova went ahead 6-5 in the first set with the match's initial service break thanks to a double-fault by Sabalenka. Bouzkova served for that set, and was two points away from it at 30-15 in that game, again at 30-all, then once more at deuce.
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But on the last such occasion, Sabalenka came through with a forehand volley winner she punctuated with a yell, followed by a down-the-line backhand winner that was accompanied by another shout.
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'That was a tough moment,' said Sabalenka, who will face 2021 U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu or 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova next. 'Until that point, (my) return wasn't great enough to break her serve. I'm really glad … everything clicked together and I was able to break her back. I kind of like felt a little bit better.'
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That sent them to a tiebreaker, and from 4-all there, Sabalenka took the next three points, ending the set with a powerful forehand return winner off a 67 mph second serve. In the second set, the only break arrived for a 3-2 lead for Sabalenka, and that was basically that.
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Sabalenka compiled a 41-17 edge in winners while making only 18 unforced errors in a match that lasted a little more than 1 1/2 hours.
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What else happened Wednesday at Wimbledon?
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Australian Open champion Madison Keys, who is seeded sixth, joined Sabalenka in the third round, beating Olga Danilovic 6-4, 6-2. Other players in action later included 2024 runner-up Jasmine Paolini among the women and two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe among the men.
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