Marta Kostyuk pushes Aryna Sabalenka to the limit but World No. 1 prevails in Rome

Aryna Sabalenka overcame a tough encounter with Marta Kostyuk to advance to the quarterfinals of the Rome Open, with a 6-1, 7-6(8) victory. The Belarusian had already defeated Kostyuk two weeks ago in the quarterfinals of the Madrid Open in two tight tie-breaks.

This time, the world No. 1 showed her superiority from the beginning, and despite slower conditions than in Madrid, she was able to gain an early advantage against the Ukrainian. Sabalenka makes her 28th appearance in the quarterfinals of a WTA 1000 event and accumulates 15 consecutive wins in tournaments of this category this year.

First Set

The world No. 1 quickly took control of the match, saving a couple of break point opportunities and then fighting to secure the first break on her 5th chance in the second game. In a few minutes, Sabalenka was already leading 3-0 on her serve, although Kostyuk was already showing some good aspects in her game.

Kostyuk's momentum was not enough to come back in the set, and the pressure on her ended up costing her a second break at 1-4, which proved crucial for the Belarusian to take the set 6-1 in just 31 minutes. The 3-time Grand Slam champion was almost impeccable on serve, with 75% first serve percentage, winning 63% of those points, while the Ukrainian barely reached 50% first serve, winning 55% of them.

Second Set

The best moments of tennis came in the second set, after Kostyuk started strongly on her serve in the early games. Sabalenka struggled on her end against good return games from Kostyuk, who had as many as five chances in her opponent's first two service games, both lengthy affairs.

While Kostyuk led 3-2, opportunities continued to come her way. Double faults appeared for Sabalenka, who had to save a total of 8 break points to stay level at 3-3. After a long 22-point service game from Kostyuk, the Ukrainian ended up saving a break point against her and then broke on the return to move ahead 5-3.

Everything seemed set for Kostyuk, who had the chance to serve for the set. However, Sabalenka reacted by winning three consecutive games – including two breaks along the way – and had the chance to close out the match on her serve. Nevertheless, the Ukrainian broke back again and managed to send it to a tie-break. In a tight decider, the world No. 1 prevailed on her third match point to once again survive a resilient Kostyuk, defeating her 6-1, 7-6(8).

Sabalenka reaches 22 wins in her last 24 matches and remains in the running for her third consecutive WTA 1000 title. The world No. 1 will meet Paris 2024 gold medalist Zheng Qinwen in the quarterfinals, against whom she has a remarkably favorable 6-0 record.

Match Statistics Sabalenka vs. Kostyuk