Second seed Aryna Sabalenka underlined her US Open title credentials with a dominant straight-set win over Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti within the second spherical.
The 26-year-old wanted simply 61 minutes to seal a 6-3 6-1 win earlier than heading over to fulfill a younger fan, who had come dressed as Sabalenka, together with an identical tattoo on her left arm.
“To see the younger era being impressed by me – that is what it is all about,” she mentioned.
“I am somewhat bit in shock as a result of that is such an inspiration for me.”
Sabalenka, a crushed finalist at Flushing Meadows final 12 months, was in management from the outset on Louis Armstrong Stadium.
Bronzetti held her personal early on, however finally the ability of Sabalenka was an excessive amount of for the world quantity 76.
The Australian Open champion snatched her solely break alternative of the primary set to go up 4-2 and calmly noticed it out from there.
On a sweltering day in New York, Sabalenka was eager to complete the match rapidly and promptly broke twice early within the second set.
A 3rd break within the set sealed a convincing win, wherein Sabalenka hit a formidable 24 winners.
“I advised myself that I needed to keep targeted from the primary level to the final one, and ensure you’re not going to spend a loopy quantity of hours [playing] so that you’re prepared for the subsequent one,” she mentioned.
“It is robust circumstances to play in however I am pleased I used to be in a position to handle the win in two units and about one hour.”
