Sabalenka fights past Townsend into US Open quarters
Read a summary of this article on FAST.
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST
Tap here to return to FAST
FAST
NEW YORK, Sept 6 : Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka subdued American Taylor Townsend 6-4 6-3 on Sunday to reach the U.S. Open quarter-finals without dropping a set.
The world number one had endured a frustrating build-up to the year’s final major but has hit her stride at Flushing Meadows and she slammed her foot on the gas in the second set against the home-crowd favourite, sealing victory with a backhand winner.
She will next play either Ukrainian 11th seed Marta Kostyuk or the Czech Republic’s Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova.
“What an incredible player she is approaching the net, what a great returner,” said Sabalenka. “Very brave, you can see how focused she was. It was really challenging playing her, especially here.”
Guess Word
Crack the word, one row at a time
Buzzword
Create words using the given letters
Mini Sudoku
Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser
Mini Crossword
Small grid, big challenge
Word Search
Spot as many words as you can
Any expectation of a one-sided contest between the top-ranked Sabalenka and world number 96 Townsend quickly disappeared as they traded two breaks apiece in the opening four games at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Sabalenka broke again in the seventh game, firing a forehand winner to seize the advantage, but Townsend responded immediately by breaking to love.
The Belarusian held firm when it mattered, however, saving a break point with an unreturnable serve before closing out the opening set in the 10th game.
Townsend tamed Sabalenka’s fearsome serve to move 3-1 up in the second set but a double fault handed the break straight back and shifted the momentum decisively.
Sabalenka then sprinted through the final four games to book her spot in the last eight.
Source: Reuters
Sign up for our newsletters
Get the CNA app
Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories
Get WhatsApp alerts
Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST
Tap here to return to FAST
FAST
