Sabalenka's clutch play seals win over Zhang, sends her into Toronto Round of 16

Don't let the scoreline fool you. Aryna Sabalenka faced a far tougher test Thursday night than her 6-3, 6-4 win over Zhang Shuai in 1 hour and 16 minutes suggests.

Toronto: Scores | Order of play | Draws

While the World No. 1 never appeared in real danger of being upset, Zhang kept her under pressure throughout. Sabalenka even stared down a break point in the final game before wiping it away and taking the last three points to close out the win in straight sets.

"That was definitely tricky. She played great," Sabalenka said in her on-court interview. "It was tough to face when you want to finish the match and go rest. And you know there was the break point. Of course, that's definitely not easy, and I'm happy that I managed to stay focused and managed to close this match in straight sets."

With the win, Sabalenka improved to 5-1 against Zhang at the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz level. She has now won their last five meetings, all in straight sets. She's also 25-1 on hard courts this season, with her lone loss on the surface coming in the Australian Open final. Sabalenka is the fastest player to reach 25 hard-court wins in a season since Serena Williams in 2016.

More to come...