Home / Sports / Sabalenka Survives Scare, Advances in Grand Slam Opener
Sabalenka Survives Scare, Advances in Grand Slam Opener
18 Jan
Summary
- Top seed Sabalenka overcame a slow start to win her opening match.
- Two seeded players, Kostyuk and Alexandrova, were surprisingly eliminated.
- Vondrousova withdrew due to injury, impacting the women's draw.
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka began her campaign with a hard-fought win, overcoming an initial deficit to defeat French wild-card Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah 6-4, 6-1. Sabalenka, a two-time Australian Open champion, acknowledged a slow start before finding her rhythm, drawing inspiration from watching tennis legends Rod Laver and Roger Federer in the stands.
Sunday's opening day also witnessed significant upsets, with unseeded Elsa Jacquemot ousting 20th seed Marta Kostyuk and Turkish qualifier Zeynep Sonmez defeating 11th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in thrilling three-set matches. Sonmez briefly paused her match to assist a ball kid struggling with the heat.
In other notable events, seventh seed Jasmine Paolini and 12th seed Elina Svitolina advanced smoothly. However, former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova withdrew before her match due to a shoulder injury, granting American Taylor Townsend entry as a lucky loser, who then secured her own victory.
