First Madrid, now Rome: Sabalenka turns back Kostyuk again
Aryna Sabalenka needed two nail-biting tiebreak sets to get past Marta Kostyuk a week ago in the Madrid quarterfinals. In their Rome rematch, the World No. 1 had to get through another dramatic tiebreak set before prevailing once again.
In Monday's Round of 16, top-seeded Sabalenka held off 27th-ranked Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-1, 7-6(8) in 2 hours and 5 minutes on Campo Centrale, completing the quarterfinal lineup at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia.
Rome: Draws | Scores | Order of play
After a routine first set for the World No. 1, Sabalenka and Kostyuk put on a thrilling display in the second set once more. Sabalenka fought back from 5-3 down before edging past Kostyuk and increasing her head-to-head lead to 4-0.
Sabalenka will next face No. 8 seed Zheng Qinwen of China for a spot in the semifinals. This head-to-head also bodes well for Sabalenka -- she has beaten Zheng all six times they have previously played, including the 2024 Australian Open final, as well as the Miami Open quarterfinals less than two months ago.
Steady as she goes: As far as results are concerned, Sabalenka has become a model of consistency, as she further increases her lead at the top of the PIF WTA Rankings.
Sabalenka has already reached six finals this season, the most by a player before Roland Garros since 2013. If she makes a seventh final in Rome, she will join Chris Evert (1986), Steffi Graf (1989 and 1994) and Monica Seles (1991) as the only players to make 7 or more WTA finals before Roland Garros in the last 40 years.
Including her titles at Miami and Madrid, Sabalenka has won her last 15 matches at WTA 1000 events. She has also become the first player to reach the quarterfinals at Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid and Rome in a single season since Carla Suarez Navarro in 2015.
Break points saved key for Sabalenka: Earlier in the month, Sabalenka saved 40 break points during her title run through Madrid -- the first player to save 40 or more break points at a single WTA 1000 event since 2022.
In Monday's match against Kostyuk, Sabalenka maintained her grit when down break point, keeping this contest from becoming even more complicated. Sabalenka erased the first 12 break points she faced before Kostyuk converted her 13th chance at last.
That was a big moment for Kostyuk, who took a 5-3 lead with that break and served for the second set. However, the breakthrough was short-lived as Sabalenka immediately broke back at love to extend the set.
The second-set tiebreak featured some of the top rallies of the day, and Kostyuk even had a set point at 7-6. But Sabalenka swatted away that chance with a rally forehand winner and the breaker went on.
Sabalenka's third match point came at 9-8, and the top seed closed out the victory at last with a winning drop shot, once again squeaking past Kostyuk in a WTA 1000 nightcap.
