New York (AFP) – Aryna Sabalenka opened her US Open title defense with a win Monday, turning back Colombian Camila Osorio in fairly comfortable fashion to advance to the second round. The world number one from Belarus, who has triumphed in New York the last two years, topped the counterpunching Osario 6-2, 6-4, sealing the win with a big first serve that the Colombian netted.
Afterwards, Sabalenka told an on-court interviewer that she was “super happy” with her form, especially in the first set, and delighted to be back in New York. “Unbelievable,” she said of returning to Arthur Ashe stadium, where she has won two of her four Grand Slams. “I feel like this is one of my favorite stadiums,” Sabalenka said.
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Sabalenka arrived in New York following a disappointing run of recent results and has not won a tournament since her victory in the Miami Open in March. She showed some scrappy form in the latter stages of the match, double-faulting on her first match point. But she landed her thunderous groundstrokes often enough to take hold of most points, occasionally utilizing drop shots and volleying off floating balls to finish points.
Sabalenka started the year in blistering form, with a win in Brisbane before reaching the final of the Australian Open, where she lost in three sets to Elena Rybakina. She bounced back from that loss to complete the ‘Sunshine Double’ with wins at Indian Wells and Miami but has not challenged for a title since. She exited in the quarter-finals at the French Open and was bundled out in the fourth round at Wimbledon by Naomi Osaka.
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