Sabalenka Wins 18th Straight Match At Australian Open

Aryna Sabalenka, Australian Open
Aryna Sabalenka (photo: Tennis Australia/Fiona Hamilton)

MELBOURNE/WASHINGTON, January 19, 2025 (by Michael Dickens)

World No. 1 and two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka won her 18th straight Australian Open match in Melbourne Sunday afternoon that moved her one round closer – and just three wins away – from garnering a third consecutive Happy Slam title.

Playing as the No. 1 seed for the first time in a major, the 26-year-old Belarusian won her fourth consecutive straight-set match during the Aussie fortnight after routing No. 14 seed Mirra Andreeva of Russia, 6-1, 6-2, in just 62 minutes. Sabalenka’s latest triumph in the round of 16 moved into her third straight AO quarterfinal on a sunny and hot (33º Celsius/91º Fahrenheit) summer afternoon – the hottest day of the tournament thus far – in the state of Victoria.

While Sabalenka lost to the 17-year-old Andreeva last year at Roland-Garros in their only previous Grand Slam meeting, it must have made a lasting impression on her. This time, she took advantage of the quick conditions on Rod Laver Arena – winning the first set in a brisk 24 minutes – and played near-perfect tennis that combined power with finesse.

Sabalenka broke Andreeva’s serve four times, saved all three break points she faced (all in the sixth game of the second set), hit 15 winners – including three aces – and made just 11 unforced errors. She outpointed her outmatched opponent 58-33.

“It’s always tough matches against Mirra; she’s so young but so mature and playing such great tennis,” Sabalenka said afterward, after improving her 2025 win-loss record to 9-0. “I’m super happy to get through this difficult match in straight sets.”

Since 2020, Sabalenka has now reached the quarterfinal round or better in 11 of the 15 Grand Slam events that she’s competed in – including nine straight. Throw in her US Open title success last year (as well as reaching the final in 2023) and Sabalenka has now won 31 of her last 32 matches in hard-court Slams since the start of the 2023 season, a winning percentage just shy of 97 percent.

“Today, I came out on the court and I was trying to put the ball back and the ball was flying like a rocket,” Sabalenka added. “I was super happy with the level today, and I hope conditions help me and I hope it’s going to be the same until the end of the tournament.”

Pavlyuchenkova through to ninth major quarterfinal

Sabalenka’s quarterfinal opponent will be No. 27 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia on Tuesday. Pavlyuchenkova reached her ninth major quarterfinal overall and the AO last eight for the first time since 2020 after defeating No. 14 seed Donna Vekic of Croatia, 7-6 (0), 6-0 in an hour and 45 minutes.

Vekic, who was hampered by a right knee injury during the second set, lost 30 of the last 45 points of the match. Pavlyuchenkova hit 38 winners and outpointed Vekic 80-61.

Eva Lys: The luckiest of lucky losers

Germany’s Eva Lys has been the luckiest of lucky losers to ever grace the Australian Open. After defeating No. 82 Jaqueline Cristian of Romania, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, Saturday afternoon, Lys became the first woman lucky loser to advance to the round of 16 at the Australian Open since the event relocated to Melbourne Park in 1988. According to the WTA website, she’s just the sixth lucky loser in Grand Slam history to make it to the second week of a major – and first in nearly two years.

“It’s definitely an insane story, how fast it happened,” the 23-year-old Lys said after her win against Cristian. “It’s been just a couple of days. Those days have totally changed my life. … I feel like my lucky loser position definitely helps me. Sometimes you just need a second chance.”

The 128th-ranked Lys, born in Kyiv, Ukraine, moved to Germany at age 2 and is based in Hamburg. A member of the Porsche Talent Team, she also trains with the German Tennis Federation in Stuttgart, where former WTA player Barbara Rittner is a close mentor. She comes from a family with a tennis background. Her father, Vladimir, is a former Ukrainian pro who played Davis Cup and now helps coach her. She has an older sister, Lisa Matviyenko, 24, who plays on the ITF Circuit.

Lys has been on the brink of cracking the Top 100 a couple of times but mental – “thinking about it too much” – and physical – being diagnosed in 2020 with spondyloarthritis, an immune condition, which has affected training and playing matches – have kept her from achieving her goals.

“I was unhappy that I couldn’t do as much or be as intense [as other players],” Lys told the WTA website during Wimbledon last year. “One thing I learned is not to look at other players. If I hit a wall I need to listen to my body, and the most important thing for me is recovery.”

Now, following three straight wins – the last two went three sets – after being the third lucky loser added to the main draw, Lys has had to re-book her flights home a couple of times. But she’s not complaining, far from it.

“I had two amazing matches,” she said, after defeating France’s Varvara Gracheva and Cristian. “In the third set I was there. In the third set I was playing my best tennis. So, I’m definitely very happy how we managed to get my body to a more stable environment. … At the end of the day, this is always just a part of my life. I always have to watch out. I have to take care of my body. I have to eat well. I have to recover well for the body just to stay in shape.”

On Monday, Lys will face former World No. 1 Iga Swiatek of Poland, the No. 2 seed, whom she has faced once. It came at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart in 2022 and was won by Swiatek, 6-1, 6-1.

“Even then I had amazing rallies with her,” Lys told the WTA website. “I lost 1 and 1. She had the streak going on, so she was playing really, really intense. … Definitely really excited to play her. She’s an amazing player. I’m definitely waiting for matches like that. This is the reason why I play tennis.

“I also think I’m not going to get underestimated in Round 4. I see that I do l have chances. I’m just going to try and play my best tennis. I think she definitely will have to work a little harder to get that win.”

Holger Rune: After an impressive first week, Sinner is his reward

World No. 13 Holger Rune of Denmark will remember his first week of the Australian Open, not just because he won all three of his matches, but rather for the amount of time he’s spent on court – a total of 10 hours and four minutes. That’s a lot of groundstrokes and points.

The 21-year-old Rune has been impressive at times in his two five-set victories, over China’s Zhang Zhizhen and Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia, which bookended a four-set win versus former AO semifinalist Matteo Berrettini of Italy.

Against Kecmanovic, Rune trailed two-sets-to-one before rallying to take the final two sets to advance to the second week. He struck 83 winners but also made 55 unforced errors during the five-setter that lasted three hours and 27 minutes on Margaret Court Arena.

“I was feeling super exhausted, so you guys just lifted me up,” Rune said during his on-court interview following his victory, which ended early Sunday morning on Margaret Court Arena and was the last match to finish at Melbourne Park. “So thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

During the fourth set, as cramps became to become an issue with Rune, he drank pickle juice during change overs. It must have worked.

“I was so tired,” Rune explained. “I was like, ‘I need to find a solution.’ I wasn’t going to be able to (chase) 15 balls side to side, so I had to go for it when I had the chance.”

So, what is Rune’s reward for his hard work? How about a fourth-round date with World No. 1 and defending AO champion Jannik Sinner of Italy.

“He’s the defending champion, and I have nothing to lose,” Rune confessed.

Rune will be attempting to reach his first major quarterfinal in 18 months following his 2023 run at Wimbledon. He’s 2-2 lifetime against Sinner, all of them going to a deciding set. While the South Tyrolean is 28-6 against Top 20 players during the past 12 months, Rune is just 2-7 against the Top 10. While Rune has already played 14 sets in his first three matches, Sinner has only had to play 10 and been on court for seven hours and 27 minutes – more than  two hours less than Rune.

“Gonna be very, very exciting,” the smiling Dane said. “I have nothing to lose.”

Sunday’s Australian Open results

Monday’s Australian Open order of play

By the numbers

• Of the remaining 16 men in the Australian Open singles draw, there are four Americans – No. 12 seed Tommy Paul, No. 21 seed Ben Shelton, unseeded Alex Michelsen (ranked 42nd) and qualifier Learner Tien (ranked 121st). All but Paul are in the upper half of the draw. Shelton and Tien could meet in the quarterfinals.

• Learner Tien, 19, of the United States is the youngest man to reach the round of 16 at the Australian Open since Rafael Nadal of Spain in 2005.

“Quotable …”

“You put in a lot of hard work in the offseason and this is where you see the results. I am extremely happy. I felt great out there. It is easy to feel so good on this court with this amazing crowd. Something you can always count on is if I don’t play my best, I will compete until the end.”

– World No. 8 Alex de Minaur, during his on-court interview Saturday, after defeating No. 31 seed Francisco Cerundolo, 5-7, 7-6 (3), 6-3, 6-3, in three hours and 53 minutes on Rod Laver Arena. De Minaur is the only Australian remaining in the men’s or women’s singles draw at the Australian Open after the first week.

 

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