Aryna Sabalenka targets going one better at US Open

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Aryna Sabalenka Targets Going One Better At Us Open
Aryna Sabalenka celebrates, © Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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By Jonathan Veal, PA, New York

Last year’s US Open runner-up Aryna Sabalenka is in prime condition to go one better this year after booking her place in the quarter-finals.

Two hours after defending champion Coco Gauff crashed out in the fourth round, the Belarussian beat Elise Mertens to make the last eight.

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Not many players left in the draw can cope with Sabalenka’s power on the hard courts and she is the clear favourite to win a third grand slam.

“I really enjoy playing here,” she said.

“The crowd are amazing. I really enjoy playing on these big stadium and feel all the support.

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“I just don’t want to leave early here. I just want to stay as long as I can and enjoy this beautiful court. I think that’s why I’m consistently here.”

On Louis Armstrong Stadium, a back-in-form Paula Badosa beat China’s Yafan Wang to book herself a second grand slam quarter-final appearance,

The Spanish star revealed she had contemplated retiring earlier this year after a back injury saw her miss out on competing in the second half of 2023.

The hiatus saw the New York-born player drop from a ranking of number two in the world to outside the top 50.

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She found it hard on her return to the sport and, amid a run of poor results earlier this summer, considered a life away from the sport.

She said: “There were some moments I was thinking about it, like in the clay court season when I was losing very soon in the tournaments, and I’m like, ‘Wow, what can I do now?’.

“For me, tennis doesn’t make sense if I’m not on the top. I want to play big stages. I want to play the last rounds of every tournament. I want to be one of the best players in the world.

“But at the end, I always had this small part of me I had faith on myself, I had this belief that I could come back.”

She will meet American Emma Navarro, who ended Gauff’s title defence.

Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng won a rematch of her gold medal clash with Donna Vekic.

Zheng was victorious in straight sets in Paris just a few weeks ago but this was a war of attrition going late into the night.

In the latest finish to a women’s match ever at the US Open, Zheng finally won 7-6 (2) 4-6 6-2 at 2.16am.

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