Sabalenka secures 7th straight win on US hardcourt

Aryna Sabalenka notched her seventh straight victory as the world No. 1 continues her quest for the rare Sunshine Double title sweep with an opening in at the MIami Masters.

The otp seed had to work through the opening set against American Ann LI, but broke it open in the second for a 7-6 (5), 6-4 trip into the third round after a bye Sabalenka aims to sweep the Indian Wells and Miami finals to join Ash Barty (2019 and 2021) and Iga Swiatek (2022) in claiming back-to-back trophy honours in North America.

The winner said she just got through her one-and-three-quarter-hour win, with her opponent taking a 4- 1 lead in an opening set which lasted for more than an hour.

The 39th-ranked Li saved seven break points as the opener went into a tiebreaker, which Sabalenka won.

“I was there, I was fighting no matter what, even though my game probably wasn’t the best one that I have,” Sabalenka said.

“She played incredible tennis — she was super aggressive, serving incredible like wow,” she continued. “It was a great match, a great level, and I’m super happy to get this really difficult win.”

The win was the ninth straight for Sabalenka in a tournament opening match.