Australian Open: Quickfire Sabalenka sends Andreeva packing

Aryna Sabalenka had no trouble in dispatching teenage star Mirra Andreeva to secure her spot in the Australian Open quarter-finals.

Sabalenka required just 62 minutes to claim a 6-1 6-2 victory at a sweltering Rod Laver Arena on Saturday.

Andreeva, whose sole win in four previous meetings against Sabalenka came in the quarter-finals at Roland-Garros last year, said she was "so tired" of playing against the world number one, and the 17-year-old's pre-match comments were proven to have some grounding.

She was simply no match for the top seed’s precision or power, as Sabalenka reeled off an 18th straight match win at the hard-court grand slams, and a ninth consecutive victory this season.

The two-time reigning champion struck three aces, did not commit a double fault and saved all three break points she faced, while breaking Andreeva four times.

A cross-court forehand long from Andreeva teed up match point, and an underhit return from the Russian on the next shot capped a superb Sabalenka victory.

ᴇxᴄʟᴜsɪᴠᴇ: a snapshot of Aryna at The winning streak at Melbourne extends to 18 matches for @SabalenkaA #AO2025 pic.twitter.com/N8WfzvsAGn

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 19, 2025

Data Debrief: Sabalenka ties Azarenka and Williams

Sabalenka has now won 18 straight Australian Open matches, becoming the first woman to achieve that since Victoria Azarenka between 2012 and 2014.

At 26, the Belarusian is the youngest player to win 18 consecutive hard-court major matches since Serena Williams, who did so between 2002 and 2004.

She is just the fifth player in the past decade to reach three consecutive quarter-finals at the Australian Open after Williams, Karolina Pliskova, Ash Barty and Jessica Pegula.