Sabalenka overcomes tricky Townsend test at US Open

Two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka emulated Serena Williams as she eventually overpowered American Taylor Townsend to reach a sixth straight US Open quarter-final.

A topsy-turvy contest featured 10 breaks of serve, but Sabalenka recovered from 3-1 down in the second serve to seal a 6-4 6-3 victory with a fifth consecutive game.

It was the Belarusian's 18th consecutive win at the tournament, extending her three-year unbeaten streak following back-to-back triumphs in 2024 and 2025.

Sabalenka, 28, is the first woman to reach six consecutive singles quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows since American great Williams in 2016.

Six-time champion Williams was also the last player to win three US Open titles in a row, and Sabalenka is now three wins from matching that feat.

Despite the straightforward scoreline this was a tricky match which required a resilient display from Sabalenka, who also had the vast majority of the crowd against her.

In that context this was an impressive victory for the four-time major winner, who has not always managed to maintain her composure in similarly testing scenarios.

"I was just trying to stay focused on myself, not only point by point but ball by ball," Sabalenka said.

"I'm happy I was able to turn around the second set, I think it was a key moment."

The match began with five successive breaks of serve - mostly due to excellent returning by both players - but it was Sabalenka who finally took charge.

Doubles specialist Townsend, who walked out wearing a long, black-feathered outfit, continued to frustrate Sabalenka and forced her to serve out the set at the second opportunity, before making the breakthrough in the second set.

But Sabalenka, aware she must lift the trophy to have a chance of retaining her number one ranking, produced an immediate reply as she broke back to love.

That signalled the start of Sabalenka's dash to the finish line. The top seed lost just five points across the final five games to end Townsend's challenge in 75 minutes.

Sabalenka was full of praise for Townsend, saying: "What an incredible player she is, approaching the net, a great returner, moving well, very brave.

"You can see how focused she was. It was really challenging playing her, especially here.

"Thank you so much [to the crowd] for being so respectful to me. I knew coming into this match that you guys would be on her side, but you were sometimes cheering for me and I really appreciate that."

At home on the US Open hard courts, Sabalenka has not failed to reach the semi-finals here since 2020.

But, following a fourth-round exit at Wimbledon, she is aiming to avoid a first season without a major title since 2022.