China Open: Sabalenka advance into round 16 with victory over Krueger

Aryna Sabalenka won her 14th consecutive match to advance to the China Open Round of 16, defeating Ashlyn Krueger 6-2, 6-2 on Monday.

The reigning Australian Open and US Open champion is bidding to win her second straight WTA-1000 title this week, having kicked off her current streak during her title run at Cincinnati in August.

“Maybe right now I’m not playing my best, best tennis,” Sabalenka said, “but I think the way I’m controlling my emotions and the way I’m holding myself sometimes really helping me to stay in most of the matches, in those difficult situations to keep fighting and keep playing my best tennis.”

“I played so many tournaments in China and I played really well in most of them,” Sabalenka told reporters. “The stats are impressive in China. I can assume it’s the fried rice that probably does that magic.

“I love playing in China. I love the conditions. I love the crowd. It’s really great atmosphere. It feels like the tennis community became bigger here, more people watching us playing. It’s really amazing to see.”

With her win over No.64 Krueger, Sabalenka improved to 19-1 against sub-50 opposition. Her sole loss came to No.132 Amanda Anisimova at Toronto, which was also her last loss before her current undefeated form.

Sabalenka will face No.18 seed Madison Keys for a spot in the quarterfinals. Keys overpowered 13th seed and Seoul champion Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-3, 6-3 earlier in the day.