Sabalenka survives Putintseva challenge to reach Brisbane quarterfinals

BRISBANE: Top seed Aryna Sabalenka demonstrated resilience and composure as she overcame a spirited effort from 15th seed Yulia Putintseva to secure a 7-6 (2), 6-4 victory in the Round of 16 at the Brisbane International on Thursday.

Sabalenka, hailing from Belarus, found herself trailing 5-3 in the opening set before rallying to force a tiebreak, which she dominated to take control of the match. The world No. 1 delivered six aces and displayed powerful baseline play to dispatch the Kazakhstani player in a tightly contested match that lasted 1 hour and 49 minutes.

While Sabalenka advanced, other seeded players faced early exits. Third seed Daria Kasatkina of Russia fell to Polina Kudermetova in a hard-fought 1-6, 6-2, 7-5 match. Meanwhile, 10th seed Victoria Azarenka, also from Belarus, was eliminated by Czech Marie Bouzkova, who posted a 6-4, 6-4 win.

Eighth-seeded Russian Mirra Andreeva delivered a dominant performance, defeating Czech No. 12 seed Linda Noskova 6-3, 6-0 in just 63 minutes.(Reuters)