Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka swept into the Round of 16 Friday at the 2024 Australian Open with a dominant 6-0, 6-0 win over Lesia Tsurenko in Rod Laver Arena.

The No.2 seed Sabalenka, who claimed her first Grand Slam title 12 months ago Down Under, needed just 52 minutes to knock off 28th-seeded Tsurenko and win her 10th straight match in Melbourne.

Sabalenka is the first woman to reel off 10 consecutive wins at the Australian Open since Serena Williams from 2017 to 2019.

Powering through: Sabalenka only dropped one set en route to last year's title, and her run this year is starting off in a similar fashion. In her first three matches, Sabalenka has lost just six games in total.

Friday was another commanding display by Sabalenka, who logged eight weeks as the No.1-ranked player last year before finishing 2023 as World No.2. Sabalenka and Tsurenko had split their two previous meetings, but this time around, Sabalenka was in total control.

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Sabalenka staved off the lone break point she faced on Friday, while converting six of her 10 break points. The defending champion finished the match with 16 winners to Tsurenko's seven, and Sabalenka also had six fewer unforced errors than her opponent.

The showdown ended up as Sabalenka's first career 6-0, 6-0 win at the tour-level. It is also the first 6-0, 6-0 victory at the Australian Open since Ashleigh Barty's first-round win over Danka Kovinic in 2021.

Fourth-round challenge awaits: Despite her recent dominance at the Australian Open, Sabalenka will have to be focused in her next match when she faces an opponent she has historically struggled against -- Amanda Anisimova of the United States.

Anisimova has beaten Sabalenka in four of their five career meetings. Their first meeting came at the 2019 Australian Open, which Anisimova won 6-3, 6-2 to reach that year's Round of 16.

"First of all, I'm happy that [Anisimova is] back on tour," Sabalenka said after her win. "We had a lot of great matches against each other, always tough battles. 

"First week is past. Now it's time to focus to the next week. I'm not expecting, like, easy matches, because when you're getting to last stages of the tournaments, it's not going to be easy at all. I'm just trying [to] prepare myself as good as I can, and make sure I bring my best level and I compete in the high level."

Anisimova's resurgence: Anisimova is playing just her second event of a comeback following a seven-month break from the tour last year, and she is already back in the Round of 16 at a Grand Slam. The 22-year-old defeated Paula Badosa 7-5, 6-4 in 1 hour and 28 minutes on John Cain Arena.

Read more: How art helped Anisimova recover from burnout and plot her return

"I'm really proud of myself," Anisimova said afterward. "I wasn't sure should I expect to do well because a lot of people were telling me, 'Don't put too much expectations on yourself. You've taken a lot of time off. Don't get too down on yourself if you don't do well at these tournaments.'

"I kind of took that in a little bit, but I still expected a lot out of myself. But at the same time I was going to be happy whether I lose in the first round or if I do well. So I was going in with that approach. I'm just really happy that I was able to get this far, but I still think that I can do more."

Anisimova came back from 4-1 down in the first set, then prevailed in a grueling eight-deuce game at 6-5, in which she saved one break point before finally converting her seventh set point of the game. From there, Anisimova needed only a single break in the second set to clinch victory.

Anisimova is into the second week of the Australian Open for the third time. She also reached the Round of 16 in 2019 and 2022. The American's best Grand Slam performance is a semifinal showing at 2019 Roland Garros.