Sabalenka advance into round 16 in Toronto

Aryna Sabalenka eased through her opener at the National Bank Open on Thursday night in Toronto.

Sabalenka who is playing her second competition since a shoulder injury whilst bidding to make her first hard-court final since January defeated Yuan Yue 6-2, 6-2 in the second round.

“That’s been really tricky to play the first tournament, because you are overprotective,” Sabalenka told reporters in Toronto. “You’re trying not to overdo stuff, you are protecting your shoulder, and I think that creates more tension. I was super sore in Washington, and coming here we did a lot of recovery, a lot of mobility stretches.

“Now I feel much better with my shoulder, I realize that I don’t have to protect it, that it’s done, it’s clean, I can go for it without fear that I can get injured again. Right now I feel more free on court and nothing bothering me there and it’s out of my mind, so it means that I can stay focused on the game and just compete and do my best.”

Sabalenka made her competitive return last week at the Mubadala Citi DC Open, where she made the semifinals will face  Great Britain’s Katie Boulter in a third round clash on Friday.

Elsewhere, Elise Mertens earned her second win of the season over former world No.1 Naomi Osaka, winning 6-3, 6-4 to advance to the Round of 16.

Mertens took advantage of Osaka’s erratic errors from the baseline to seal the win and set up a meeting with No.6 seed Liudmila Samsonova on Friday.

Former No.1 Victoria Azarenka closed out the night with a comeback win over Greet Minnen. Azarenka came from a set down to win 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 and will face Peyton Stearns next.