No.3 seed Aryna Sabalenka retuned to the quarterfinals at the Cincinnati Open with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Elina Svitolina on Friday -- extending her head-to-head record against the Ukrainian to 4-1 in the process.
Cincinnati: Scores | Draws | Order of Play
Sabalenka's 1-hour and 19-minute victory put her into the last eight in Cincinnati for the fourth time her career; she reached the semifinals in her 2018 main-draw debut, and has also played in the penultimate round in each of the last two years.
The two-time Australian Open champion was playing Svitolina on hard courts for the first time in six years in Friday's match, and rounded into form late to seal an upcoming meeting with No.10 seed Liudmila Samsonova. Up a break for much of the opening set, Sabalenka was broken at love when she served for it the first time at 5-4, but won eight of the match's last 10 games to advance.
Four proved to be a key number for Sabalenka in the match in more ways than one. She saved four of the five break points she faced in the match, while going 4-for-4 on her own break points against Svitolina's serve.
Right place, right time 😤#CincyTennis | @SabalenkaA pic.twitter.com/N85o4B2ipE
— wta (@WTA) August 16, 2024
More key numbers from Sabalenka's win included:
7: Svitolina has now lost seven of her nine matches against Top 10 opposition this year, including all three of those matches on hard courts.
12: From 2-2, 30-15 on Svitolina's serve in the second set, Sabalenka won 12 straight points to put herself in command on her way to victory.
22: Sabalenka now boasts 22 career WTA 1000 quarterfinals, tied for most among active players with Karolina Pliskova.
30: Sabalenka hit more than double Svitolina's total of winners: 30 to 14. Despite her aggressive play, she in fact also hit fewer unforced errors: 16 to 17.
Sabalenka takes a losing head-to-head record into her next match against Samsonova. Samsonova -- who came from a set behind to end the run of lucky loser Elina Avanesyan 4-6, 6-0, 6-3 in the Round of 16 -- has won two of their three career meetings, all of which have come on hard courts.