At the outset of the 2010s, current World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka had earned a reputation for struggling in the big moments. She rose to the top five in the world, but would lose to lower-seeded players in the second week of majors.
But hoisting four major championship trophies in three years has completely erased that reputation. The Belarussian advanced to her 13th major quarterfinal in 14 tournaments by showing that determination in a 6-1, 7-6 (1) victory over 17th-seeded Victoria Mboko of Canada on Sunday at the Australian Open.
In fact, Sabalenka is now regarded as one of the top pressure players in the history of the sport. With her match-clinching tiebreak victory over Mboko, Sabalenka has extended her Open Era record streak of consecutive tiebreakers won in major championships to 20.
Sloane Stephens held the previous record of 14 in a row, won between Roland Garros in 2015 and Wimbledon in 2016.
Sabalenka will face 18-year-old American sensation Iva Jovic, who reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for the first time. The Californian and 29th-seeded player shellacked Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva, 6-0, 6-1 in a match that lasted 53 minutes.
It appeared as though Sabalenka would break form in the fourth round against the Canadian 19-year-old. She cruised to a 6-1, 4-1 lead, but Mboko stayed composed and Sabalenka let errors creep into her game.
Mboko won three of four games, setting up Sabalenka to serve for the match. But in a 13-point game, Mboko fought off three match points, ripped multiple winners off her opponent’s serve that evened the set at 5-5.
Both players held, setting up Sabalenka for what is now her trademark.
“I don’t know, I’m just trying to play point-by-point,” said Sabalenka about her incredible tiebreaker streak, adding that her opponents may be intimidated entering the breakers.
Mboko earned more break-point chances at 6-5, but converted a pair, whereas Sabalenka went 4 of 5.
“What an incredible player for such a young age,” Sabalenka said in her on-court interview regarding Mboko. “It’s incredible to see these kids coming up on tour. I can’t believe I say that, I feel like I’m a kid still but whatever! Incredible player. She pushed me really hard today.
“I’m super happy with the win, once again in straight sets. She played incredible tennis. She pushed me so much. Happy to be through.”
Jovic captured 14 of 19 points on Putintseva’s serve in a 25-minute first set. She led, 6-0, 4-0 before the 31-year-old earned a game.
“I think I’m just gonna try to keep taking care of my side of the net,” said Jovic on her impending match with the top seed. “Obviously she’s No. 1 for a reason and has had so much success at this tournament, but that’s what I want. I said it last year that I hoped to play her this year because you definitely want to play the best and see how it goes. I’m really excited.”
Jovic has been more dominant than Sabalenka through four rounds in Melbourne. Each player has won all eight sets, but the American has only played one tiebreaker and Sabalenka is now 3-0 in tiebreakers in Melbourne this fortnight.
–Field Level Media
