By the numbers: Sabalenka powers past Alexandrova and into Berlin quarters

Aryna Sabalenka matched up with Ekaterina Alexandrova on Wednesday in one of the more under-the-radar WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz rivalries, emerging with a 6-4, 6-4 win in 1 hour and 21 minutes to reach the Berlin quarterfinals for the third straight year.

Berlin: Scores | Order of play | Draws

The victory also gives Sabalenka a 5-4 lead in a head-to-head that dates back to 2017 and a 2-1 edge on grass.

"She's a really tough opponent, especially on grass courts," Sabalenka said in her on-court interview. "I'm super happy with the way I handled it, and yeah, happy to be back, happy to play in front of you all and enjoy this incredible support."

The No. 1 seed treated the crowd at Steffi Graf Stadium to an all-around performance, serving well, returning well and largely playing mistake-free tennis. She finished with just 10 unforced errors against 20 winners and can now look forward to a first-time meeting with 20-year-old Nikola Bartunkova.

"I've been watching her game," Sabalenka told reporters. "She plays really smart tennis; she's got some variety and is a pretty cool player. I love watching her matches, to be honest, so I'm really happy to face her."

But first, here is Sabalenka's second-round win by the numbers.

1: First-serve point lost by Sabalenka in the opening set. The World No. 1 was nearly untouchable when landing her first serve, winning 13 of 14 such points. She finished at 81% for the match, taking 29 of 36 overall.

6: Forehand winners in the first set. Along with her serve, Sabalenka's forehand dictated play early, accounting for more than half her winners in the opener. She used it in key moments, too, notably dropping a forehand into the corner to hold for 3-3. 

12: Consecutive points won to end the first set. Locked in a tight battle early, Sabalenka fired an ace to seal a love hold for 4-4, then ripped a blistering backhand off her back foot to set up triple break point. She converted for 5-4 and held at love again to finish the set in a blur.

80: Percent of break points saved. After cruising through the first set without facing one, Sabalenka stared down five in the second as Alexandrova applied more pressure on return. But she saved four of them in her first match of the Grass-Court Swing to close out the win in straight sets.

361: Days since Sabalenka last lost to a Czech player. That defeat also came in Berlin, where Marketa Vondrousova beat her 6-2, 6-4 in last year's semifinals en route to the title.