Tennis-Defending champion Sabalenka extends US Open winning streak with Rakhimova win

Tennis - U.S. Open - Flushing Meadows, New York, United States - September 4, 2026 Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka celebrates winning her third round match against Uzbekistan's Kamilla Rakhimova REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

NEW YORK, ⁠Sept 4 (Reuters) - Two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka continued her imposing run at ⁠the U.S. Open with a composed 6-3 6-4 victory over Kamilla Rakhimova ‌in the third round on Friday, extending her bid for a fifth Grand Slam title.

Sabalenka opened play on a sweltering morning at Flushing Meadows and wasted little time making her intentions clear, breaking early to ​seize control and never looking back as she ⁠wrapped up the opening set.

"It's the ⁠first time I play morning session and it's a full stadium I'm so grateful, ⁠it's ‌a dream," a smiling Sabalenka said on court.

The world number one unleashed her trademark power from the start, firing down a dominant serving display with ⁠four aces and dropping just four points on her first ​serve.

The only hitch for ‌Sabalenka during the opener came when a strong smell of cannabis drifted ⁠on to the ​Louis Armstrong Stadium court, briefly disrupting play as she alerted umpire Eva Asderaki-Moore.

In the second set, Sabalenka found herself having to work harder for her holds as Rakhimova shook off the ⁠tension and made the top seed earn her ​way through her service games, while saving four break points of her own.

But Sabalenka eventually found the opening she needed, producing a blistering return to earn the decisive break before ⁠serving out the victory.

"She played incredible in the second set, push me so hard and motivate me to bring out my best," Sabalenka added. "I'm happy I closed this match in two sets."

Sabalenka, who has now won 16 straight matches at the U.S. ​Open, is seeking to become the first woman since Serena ⁠Williams, who won three straight titles from 2012 to 2014, to complete a hat-trick ​of U.S. Open crowns.

She will next face American Taylor ‌Townsend, or Diana Shnaider in what would ​be a rematch of the French Open quarter-final match she lost against the Russian.

(Reporting by Janina Nuno Rios in New York; editing by Clare Fallon)

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网球——美国网球公开赛——美国纽约法拉盛草地网球场——2026年9月4日，白俄罗斯选手阿丽娜·萨巴伦卡庆祝战胜乌兹别克斯坦选手卡米拉·拉希莫娃，赢得第三轮比赛。（路透社/爱德华多·穆尼奥斯摄）

纽约，9 月 4 日（路透社）——两届卫冕冠军阿丽娜·萨巴伦卡在周五的美国网球公开赛第三轮比赛中，以 6-3、6-4 的比分战胜卡米拉·拉希莫娃，继续保持着她在美网公开赛上的强势表现，并向她的第五个大满贯冠军头衔发起冲击。

萨巴伦卡在法拉盛草地公园一个闷热的早晨开始了比赛，她很快就表明了自己的意图，早早破发夺得优势，并在结束首盘比赛时一路领先。

“这是我第一次参加上午的比赛，而且体育场座无虚席，我非常感激，这简直像做梦一样，”萨巴伦卡面带微笑地在球场上说道。

世界排名第一的选手从一开始就展现了她标志性的强大实力，发球势如破竹，发出了 4 个 ace 球，一发仅丢 4 分。

萨巴伦卡在首场比赛中唯一遇到的问题是，一股浓烈的大麻气味飘到了路易斯·阿姆斯特朗体育场的球场上，短暂地中断了比赛，她随即通知了裁判伊娃·阿斯德拉基-摩尔。

在第二盘中，萨巴伦卡发现自己必须更加努力才能保住自己的发球局，因为拉希莫娃摆脱了紧张情绪，让头号种子在自己的发球局中赢得十分艰难，同时她自己也挽救了四个破发点。

但萨巴伦卡最终找到了机会，以一记势大力沉的回球取得了决定性的破发，并最终赢得了比赛。

萨巴伦卡补充道：“她在第二盘发挥得非常出色，给了我很大的压力，也激励我发挥出最佳水平。我很高兴能以两盘结束这场比赛。”

萨巴伦卡目前已在美网公开赛上取得 16 连胜，她正力争成为自塞雷娜·威廉姆斯（2012 年至 2014 年连续三次夺冠）以来，首位完成美网三连冠的女子选手。

接下来，她将迎战美国选手泰勒·汤森德或戴安娜·施奈德，这将是她与俄罗斯选手在法网​​四分之一决赛中失利后的再次对决。

（纽约 Janina Nuno Rios 报道；Clare Fallon 编辑）

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