Two out of three ain’t bad as Sabalenka forced to dig deep again
Belarus’ No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka continued her pattern of winning from one set down in her third-round victory over Czech opponent Marketa Vondrousova on Saturday as she set up a clash with Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi.
It was the third successive match where Sabalenka has had to dig deep to overcome her opponent after dropping the first set, winning 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.
Aryna Sabalenka had to dig deep against Marketa Vondrousova.Credit:AP
The 23-year-old’s serving troubles continued with 10 double faults for the match (she has served 41 in the tournament), although she began to land her big first serves the longer the match went on. That positive trend will need to continue if the powerful server wants to progress into her first grand slam final.
Sabalenka did not deny her serving was an issue but said she was much calmer in the third round about it when she merely focused on her jump compared to her previous match when she tried too hard to fix every problem.
“Last match I was trying to control everything,” Sabalenka said.
“I am trying to stay positive, and it is working. I try not to focus on my serve. I am trying to forget about my serve.”
She said the rest of her game was in good shape, which made addressing the issue easier, although she would prefer not to lose the first set each time.
“I am over trying to win the first set,” Sabalenka said.
Her win set up a tantalising encounter with Kanepi, who overcame a sluggish start against Australian wildcard Maddison Inglis to make the fourth round with a 2-6, 6-2, 6-0 win.
Comebacks were the trend of the day in the women’s singles, with American Danielle Collins and France’s Alize Cornet also prevailing after losing the first set.
Danielle Collins (left) is congratulated by Clara Tauson.Credit:AP
Collins looked gone midway through the second set against emerging Danish star Clara Tauson, but she refused to give up as she sweated and grunted her way into the fourth round with a 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 win.
The tense match turned in the eighth game of the second set when Collins, the 27th seed, broke back to join 19-year-old Tauson on 4-4 after she had lost the first set. She capitalised on the sudden momentum shift to win the next two games to level the match at one set all.
Tauson did not yield, however, saving two match points when on the canvas at 15-40 and trailing 4-5, with the expressive Collins pumped up and willing herself to victory. Tauson then saved a third match point before several unforced errors handed Collins the match.
Given the heat and the stakes it was compelling tennis, with the veteran calling on all her experience against Tauson. However, the young Dane could only fight against the tide for so long before she broke and Collins held serve before breaking Tauson to love to secure the win.
Simona Halep.Credit:Getty Images
“I lost my rhythm for a while and was making a few too many errors,” Collins said.
“I had to run down a lot of balls and be willing to play some longer points in certain moments.”
Collins will meet Belgium’s Elise Mertens after the 26-year-old reached the fourth round for the third successive year after disposing of China’s Shuai Zhang 6-2, 6-2.
Simona Halep did what she does at this stage of the Australian Open when she swept aside Montenegro’s Danka Kovinic in straight sets 6-2, 6-1 to again reach the final 16. It is the seventh time Halep has made the fourth round of the Australian Open.
The crowd favourite said she was in a good spot heading into the second week. “I really trust that I can play good tennis here,” Halep said.
Halep will meet French veteran Cornet, who managed to defeat Slovenia’s Tamara Zidansek in a three-set battle, with Cornet wearing a stunned expression after she held match point to win 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.
It is only the second time Cornet has reached the fourth round of the Australian Open and the first since 2009. The win came on the Frenchwoman’s 32nd birthday, with her run of consecutive grand slam appearances at 60.
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