World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka overcame a tight opening set on Wednesday before defeating Marie Bouzkova 7-6 (4), 6-4 to reach the third round of Wimbledon, extending her early success in the majors.
Sabalenka winded up 32 consecutive wins before the first week of the Grand Slam event (before the 16th round) back to 2022 US Open. She won 64 of the 67 sets she played in those matches.
Bouzkova, a quarterfinalist at Wimbledon in 2022, was most efficient at converting breakpoints this season, and did so with 54% of his chances of leading the WTA Tour. Against Sabalenka, Bouzkova changed the only breakpoint opportunity of the match when Sabalenka double-faulted to give Bouzkova a 5-6 lead in the first set.
Annoyed Sabalenka screamed when he didn’t convert breakpoints in the next game, but the 27-year-old soon composed himself to force a tiebreak with the backhand winner on the next opportunity.
“It was a tough moment in the game,” Sabalenka said. “I was just trying to get the ball back on that side and I was hoping I could break her because up to that point, my return wasn’t enough to break her serve.
“I felt a little better at that moment, and I think that’s why I was able to win a tiebreak and win in a straight set.”
Sabalenka won more than third rounds in each of the last 17 majors she played. The only woman with longer active streaks is Iga Swiatek, who has done so in every major since its inception in 2020.
Sabalenka is no. Coco Gauff of 2, No. 3Jessica Pegula, No. 5Qinwen Zheng, No. 9 Paula Badosa was packed in the first round, followed by Coco Gauff, No. Jessica Pegula of 3, No. After 9 Paula Badosa, he said he is focused on avoiding the upset bug.
“To be honest, it’s very sad to see so many top players losing in the first round, but it’s better to focus on yourself and stay away from the outcome,” Sabalenka said. “Of course you know the big picture, but it’s better to take one step at a time with every competition here and do your best.”
In the result of other women’s singles on Wednesday, British Sonay Kartal defeated Bulgarian Victoria Tomova 6-2, 6-2 to reach the third round.
“I felt good in court today. I was really cleaned it. It was one of my good days in the office,” Kartal said.
Germany’s Laura Siegemund also made progress.
ESPN research and Reuters contributed to this report.