By Shrivathsa Sridhar
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka overcame a rocky start to roar into the third round of the U.S. Open with a 7-6(4) 6-2 win over unseeded Russian Polina Kudermetova on Wednesday.
In their only previous meeting, Sabalenka rallied from a set down to win the Brisbane final in January and the world number one was on the back foot early again in New York.
She saved four break points before dropping serve in the opening game but recovered immediately and asserted herself late in the tight opening set with a sublime crosscourt winner for a 3-1 lead in the tiebreak.
World number 67 Kudermetova sent a forehand wide to gift the opening stanza to Sabalenka before the 22-year-old found herself down an early break in the next and staring at a long road back after aggravating a leg issue.
She came out swinging after receiving treatment and looked set to recover the break before Sabalenka composed herself and moved ahead 3-1 thanks to yet another unforced error from the Russian’s racket.
The writing was on the wall when Sabalenka won the next game and the Belarusian held firm from there to secure a meeting with 2021 runner-up Leylah Fernandez of Canada.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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