Sabalenka battles past Kudermetova to enter US open third round

Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka had to battle hard before advancing to the third round of the US Open with a 7-6(4), 6-2 win over unseeded Russian Polina Kudermetova on Wednesday night.

In their only previous encounter, Sabalenka fought back from a set down to win the Brisbane final in January, and the World No. 1 again faced an early challenge in New York.



She saved four break points before dropping serve in the opening game but quickly got her act together, ultimately clinching a tense first set by pulling away in the tiebreak with a superb crosscourt winner for a 3-1 lead.


Kudermetova handed Sabalenka the opener with a forehand error, then grabbed an early break in the second despite struggling with a leg issue. After treatment, Kudermetova briefly threatened to level before Sabalenka steadied, capitalising on errors to move ahead 3-1.

Sabalenka’s momentum proved decisive, and she closed out the match with authority to book a third-round clash against 2021 runner-up Leylah Fernandez.

"The first set was super tight and super aggressive," Sabalenka said in her on-court interview. "I felt like it was more about the serve and first shot. It was super quick.

"The second set felt much better on the return game. I'm really glad that I stayed strong in that first set."