(Melbourne) World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka dismissed young Canadian Victoria Mboko (16^e at 19) 6-1, 7-6 (7/1) Sunday in 8^are final of the Australian Open where she will return to the quarter-finals for the fourth time in a row.

“So young, she is incredibly strong so I am very happy to have won in two rounds,” commented the 27-year-old Belarusian, double winner in Melbourne (2023, 2024) and finalist last year.

She will face Kazakh Yulia Putintseva (94) on Tuesday.^e) or the American Iva Jovic (27^e) to try to find the last square.

Revelation of last year with his title at the WTA 1000 in Montreal, Mboko participated in his first Australian Open. She achieved her best Grand Slam run to date, after her debut in Majors last year. She lost in the third round at Roland Garros, the second at Wimbledon and the first at the US Open.

On Sunday, Mboko played with his right leg still wrapped in a huge bandage running from mid-thigh to mid-calf to protect his knee.

After missing two break points in the first game of the match, the Canadian then seemed completely helpless.

But, trailing 4-1 in the second set, she took advantage of a bad game from Sabalenka to steal her serve and then return to 4-3.

Sabalenka served for the match at 5-4 but failed to convert any of her first three match points, letting Mboko return to 5-5.

In the tiebreaker, however, Sabalenka immediately broke away 6/0 and concluded on her fifth match point.

“It’s in the head and we always have to play the best we can even if it’s not our best level,” stressed the Belarusian.

She has already won four Grand Slam tournaments with, in addition to her two Australian trophies, the US Open 2024 and 2025.

She will play her 13^e consecutive Grand Slam quarter-finals since her third-round elimination at Roland Garros in 2021 (she did not participate in Wimbledon in 2022 or 2024).

Canadian Victoria Mboko’s good run at the Australian Open ended in the fourth round this Sunday in Melbourne.

The 17^e top seed, who was the last representative of the maple leaf in singles, lost 6-1, 7-6 (1) to world number one, Aryna Sabalenka.

The Belarusian only needed 1 hour 26 minutes to overcome the 19-year-old Ontarian.

The first set was one-sided, with Sabalenka winning 81% of the points contested on her first serve and hitting three aces, compared to a meager 42% success rate and no aces for her opponent.

Mboko, however, fought well in the second round. She hit three aces and won 57% of points played on her first serve, two statistics identical to Sabalenka. The latter, however, was dominant in the tiebreaker, taking a 6-0 lead before winning 7-1.

The number one player in the world finished the duel with 31 winning shots and 24 unforced errors, compared to 19 winning shots and 20 unforced errors for Mboko, who could join the top 15 world at the conclusion of this Grand Slam tournament.

“What an incredible player for her age! exclaimed Sabalenka, 27, about the Canadian. It’s incredible to see these young people break through on the circuit. I find it hard to believe it. I feel like I’m still a child. »

“She pushed me so hard, and I’m glad it’s over,” Sabalenka added during her on-court interview.

The Belarusian also won a 20^e consecutive tiebreaker.

“I try not to think about a tiebreaker and play point by point, and I think that’s the key to consistency,” she said.

Sabalenka won this Grand Slam tournament in 2023 and 2024 and was finalist last year against Madison Keys. She also won two U.S. Open titles.

Mboko reached this stage of the competition thanks to a 7-6 (5), 5-7, 6-3 victory against Danish Clara Tauson, 14^e seeded, in the third round.

In women’s doubles, Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski and Brazilian Luisa Stefani defeated American Nicole Melichar and Spaniard Cristina Bucșa 6-4, 6-3 in the third round.

Dabrowski and his partner, seeded fifth, won 61% of the points played on their first ball and especially 70% of the points played on their second serve.

In the quarterfinals, Dabrowski and Stefani will face the winners of the duel between Su-Wei Hsieh and Jeļena Ostapenko, third seeds, and Sofia Kenin and Laura Siegemund, 13^are favorites.