LONDON (Reuters) -Second seed Aryna Sabalenka continued her march towards a second Grand Slam title this year with a comfortable 6-4 6-0 victory over Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova on Monday to power into the Wimbledon quarter-finals.
Both players were absent from the tournament last year after the grasscourt Grand Slam decided to ban players from Russia and its ally Belarus due to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, which it calls a “special military operation”.
Belarusian Sabalenka said she hoped to make up for lost time by continuing her winning run in London on her return.
“I’m really enjoying being here,” Sabalenka said. “I’m super happy to be back and I’m really enjoying every second on court… I just want to stay as long as I can so I can enjoy the atmosphere.”
The normally aggressive Australian Open champion, who could potentially replace Iga Swiatek at the top of the world rankings by lifting the Venus Rosewater Dish, bagged the first set with a late break, playing some delightfully delicate shots at the net.
The 28-year-old Alexandrova had eased past her Belarusian opponent in their previous two meetings but a repeat was never on the cards under bright sunshine on Court One as Sabalenka pounced early in the second set for a 4-0 lead.
Serving with power and precision, the 2021 semi-finalist tightened her grip on the match with a solid hold and closed out the contest when fast-fading 21st seed Alexandrova sent a shot long at the baseline.
“I think it was a great match, I’m super happy with this win. She’s a really tough opponent to play,” said Sabalenka, who fell to Alexandrova in the ‘s-Hertogenbosch final last year.
“I’m happy with the level I played today.”
Sabalenka, 25, who has dropped one set in the tournament so far, faces American 25th seed Madison Keys in the last eight.
“It’s always a tough battle,” said Sabalenka, who beat Keys in the Berlin last 16 in 2021 to level their tour-level head-to-head record at 1-1. “I’m really looking forward to it.”
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; editing by Clare Fallon)
