World number one Aryna Sabalenka returned to her hard court comfort zone with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Japanese qualifier Moyuka Uchijima in the WTA 1000 in Toronto on Tuesday.
It was a solid start for Sabalenka in her bid to bounce back after falling in the quarter-finals at Roland Garros and in the round of 16 at Wimbledon.
The Belarusian star has dominated on hard courts this year and on Tuesday notched her 24th win in 25 matches on the surface. The lone defeat was her loss to Elena Rybakina in the Australian Open final.
Now she’s eyeing a North American hard court run that could include a three-peat at the US Open, the final Grand Slam of the year that starts on August 30 in New York.
“I’m happy with the performance, I’m happy with the fight,” Sabalenka said after her second-round opener. “I knew going into this match I might struggle a little bit after a little break, but I was ready for that.
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“I’m happy that mentally and physically I was ready to go.”
Sabalenka didn’t have it all her own way against the 111th-ranked Uchijima. But she emerged from an exchange of five breaks of serve that opened the second set with a 3-2 lead and made the advantage stand up.
She held for 4-2, and when she had her first chance to serve it out, she pounced, sealing the match on her second match point with an overhead winner.
Uchijima had surprised the Belarusian in the opening game of the match, clawing back from 40-15 down to break on the way to a quick 2-0 lead.
But Sabalenka won the next five games and polished off the opening set with a confident hold of serve.
In the third round, she’ll face China’s Zhang Shuai, who was leading Jelena Ostapenko 6-0, 4-0 when the Latvian retired from their match.
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