Top seed Sabalenka ousts Mboko to reach Aussie Open quarters

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — First-seeded Aryna Sabalenka, attempting to win her third Australian Open title in four years, reached the quarterfinals on Sunday with a victory over No. 17 Canadian Victoria Mboko 6-1, 7-6 (1).

Sabalenka, using a high-powered serve that produced three aces in the first set, rolled over the 19-year-old Canadian in just 31 minutes.

Sabalenka was not quite as dominant in the second set — producing a few more unforced errors — against Mboko, who played well enough to beat many players but not the two-time Australian Open champion.

Sabalenka led the second set 4-1, and then failed to convert three match points while leading 5-4. Mboko slowly took back the momentum and forced a tiebreaker only for Sabalenka to dominate.

It was the 20th straight tiebreak victory for Sabalenka.

Sabalenka won this Grand Slam in 2023 and 2024 and was the runner-up last year against Madison Keys. The Belarussian has also won two U.S. Open titles.

In a later match Sunday at Rod Laver Arena, the top-seeded man Carlos Alcaraz of Spain faced American No. 19 Tommy Paul for a spot in the quarterfinals.

Alexander Zverev and Coco Gauff, the third seeds on the men and women’s side, also played later for spots in the quarterfinals.

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