Aryna Sabalenka confirmed favoritism and advanced to the third round of Aberto from Madri. The world number 1 beat the American Peyton Stearns 7-5 and 6-3 on the Manolo Santana court this Thursday. The game lasted 1h35.
The Belarusian pressed from the start. Stearns resisted in the first set and led 5-4. Sabalenka broke at the right time and closed the partial at 7-5. In the second set, the American lost her serve early. The favorite didn’t give any chances and confirmed the victory.
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Sabalenka dominates the serve and exploits the opponent’s mistakes
The Belarusian tennis player recorded a good performance on the first serve. Ela won 64% of the points with him. Stearns committed more double faults and lost his rhythm in long exchanges. Sabalenka converted four of 12 break points. The American took advantage of just two of eight.
- A. Sabalenka: 2 aces, 5 double faults
- P. Stearns: 5 aces, 4 double faults
- % first serve: Sabalenka 64%, Stearns 64%
- Pontos won on first serve: Sabalenka 70%, Stearns 63%
- Break points converted: Sabalenka 4/12, Stearns 2/8
- Total of points: Sabalenka 64, Stearns 53
Estatísticas confirms top seed’s superiority
Sabalenka won 73% of the points receiving serve against 27% of the rival. Ela dominated the service games with six straight wins at one point. Stearns held serve at times, but was unable to break consistently. The Belarusian scored 37 service points.
The game had few tiebreaks. Nenhum set went to the tiebreaker. Sabalenka converted decisive breaks at the end of the first set and in the middle of the second. The match continued at a high pace on the clay of the Spanish complex.
Recent Histórico favors number 1
Este was the third meeting between the two. Sabalenka leads the direct confrontation 3-0. Today’s victory repeats the dominance shown in previous clashes. Stearns, which occupies position 43 in the ranking, came from victory in the previous round.
The American tried to impose an aggressive pace. Ela took risks with groundstrokes, but made more mistakes in important moments. Sabalenka remained calm and exploited deep returns to pressure her rival’s second serve.
Próximos challenges in the Madrid tournament
Sabalenka now awaits the winner of the clash between other tennis players in the group. Aberto of Madri continues with women’s singles matches throughout the week. The number 1 is looking for the title on Spanish clay after a good start to the season.
Stearns ends participation in the competition. The American will return to the court soon to adjust her clay game before the next events.