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Top-ranked Sabalenka powers her way into quarterfinals at Australian Open

Top-ranked Sabalenka powers her way into quarterfinals at Australian Open | iNFOnews.ca
Iva Jovic of the U.S. celebrates after defeating Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan in their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka, attempting to win her third Australian Open title in four years, reached the quarterfinals on Sunday with a victory over No. 17 Victoria Mboko of Canada 6-1, 7-6 (1).

Sabalenka, using a high-powered serve that produced three aces in the first set, rolled over the 19-year-old Canadian in just 31 minutes on Rod Laver Arena.

Sabalenka was not quite as dominant in the second set — producing a few more unforced errors — against Mboko, who played well enough to beat many players but not the two-time Australian Open champion.

“What an incredible player for such a young age,” the 27-year-old Sabalenka said of the young Canadian. “It’s incredible to see these kids coming up on Tour. I can’t believe I say that. I feel like I’m still a kid.”

“She pushed me so much, and I’m happy to be through,” Sabalenka added in her on-court interview.

Sabalenka led the second set 4-1, and then failed to convert three match points while leading 5-4. Mboko slowly took back the momentum and forced a tiebreaker only for Sabalenka to dominate.

It was the 20th straight tiebreak victory for Sabalenka.

“I try to — not to think this is a tiebreak and play point by point, and I guess that’s the key to consistency,” she said.

Sabalenka won this Grand Slam in 2023 and 2024 and was the runner-up last year against Madison Keys. The Belarusian has also won two U.S. Open titles.

Sabalenka will be up against an even younger player in the quarterfinals — 18-year-old American Iva Jovic.

The No. 29-seeded Jovic defeated Yulia Putintseva 6-0, 6-1 on John Cain Arena in just 53 minutes as she advanced to her first Grand Slam quarterfinal.

In a later match Sunday on Rod Laver Arena, the top-seeded man Carlos Alcaraz of Spain faced American No. 19 Tommy Paul for a spot in the quarterfinals.

Alexander Zverev and Coco Gauff, the third seeds on the men and women’s side, also played later for spots in the quarterfinals.

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More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

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