Aryna Sabalenka reached the US Open quarterfinals for the fourth year in a row with a convincing victory over Elise Mertens.
The second-seeded Sabalenka, who was defeated in last year’s New York final by Coco Gauff, defeated her former doubles partner Mertens 6-2 6-4.
The Belarusian scored 41 winning goals and stopped all eight break points created by Belgian Mertens.
Sabalenka is the first woman to reach the women’s singles quarterfinals at Flushing Meadows four times in a row since Serena Williams in 2016.
In her last eight Grand Slam appearances, she has reached the quarterfinals or higher.
Her last defeat before that stage came at the 2022 Australian Open, where she was defeated in the fourth round by Kaia Kanepi. She has not lost a match in Melbourne since then, winning the title in 2023 and defending it in January this year.
For a place in the semi-finals she will face Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen or silver medalist Donna Vekic.
Sabalenka defeated Zheng in the Australian Open final earlier this year, but she has struggled against Vekic, having defeated her only twice in eight meetings.
Paula Badosa previously defeated Wang Yafan 6-1 6-2 to advance to a quarter-final against Emma Navarro, who ended Gauff’s title defence in three sets.
‘A few months ago I wanted to quit tennis’
Former world number two Badosa is in the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam for the second time after a few difficult years.
Badosa first broke through in 2021, when he won the Indian Wells title and then reached the last eight at Roland Garros that year.
However, a stress fracture in her back ruled her out of the second half of the 2023 season, and that still worries her.
She has not won a title since January 2022 and considered retirement due to the effects of the injury.
“A few months ago I thought about quitting this sport because I didn’t believe in myself anymore and my injury wasn’t responding,” Badosa said.
“The lowest point for me was halfway through the season. There were times when I didn’t know what to do.
“I thought to myself, maybe I should quit, because if I’m not playing at the highest level, I don’t want to play this sport.
“Being back is a dream come true.”
In the women’s doubles, Britain’s Heather Watson and her American partner Asia Muhammad lost their third round match against Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend 6-1 5-7 7-5.
