TENNIS
Sabalenka stands firm to overcome Putintseva in Brisbane
Aryna Sabalenka defeated Yulia Putintseva in straight sets on Thursday to reach the quarter-finals of the Brisbane International.
The number one seed, who finished runner-up here last year, found life tough in the opening set but ultimately prevailed 7-6 (7-2) 6-4.
Putintseva earned the first break of serve in the seventh game of the first set, only for Sabalenka to hit back with a break of her own in the 10th.
World number 29 Putintseva squandered a set point in the 12th game as the opener went to a tie-break, which Sabalenka took 7-2.
Having been two points from losing the opener of four occasions, the Belarusian found the second set a lot more straightforward.
A break of serve in the first game paved the way for Sabalenka to hold and see out the win in a time of one hour and 49 minutes.
Marie Bouzkova awaits Sabalenka in the last eight after upsetting Victoria Azarenka earlier on Thursday.
An error occurred while retrieving the Tweet. It might have been deleted.
Data Debrief: Sabalenka improves after lukewarm start
Sabalenka struggled to find her full flow in the opening set, in which she recorded a first serve points won percentage of 69%, compared to 69.4% for her opponent.
However, the quality told in the second as Sabalenka increased that figure to 85% in what proved to be a deserved last-16 victory in Australia.