PARIS : World number one Aryna Sabalenka continued her impressive run at the French Open with a 6-0 7-5 victory over Australia’s Daria Kasatkina on Saturday, advancing to the fourth round and setting up a blockbuster meeting with Naomi Osaka.
After the shock exits of men’s top seed Jannik Sinner and 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic earlier in the tournament, Sabalenka ensured there would be no upset on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
“It has definitely been a great week,” Sabalenka said in her on-court interview.
“I’m happy to be through to the second week, happy with my level, and to be able to handle the fight that she brought and get a straight-sets win.”
The Belarusian also celebrated a significant milestone, becoming only the ninth player to record 100 victories while ranked world number one since the introduction of the WTA rankings.
She joins an elite group that includes Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Chris Evert, Serena Williams, Martina Hingis, Monica Seles, Justine Henin and Iga Swiatek.
“I’ve got goosebumps,” Sabalenka said. “It means the world to me. In the tough moments I stayed tough, I kept fighting and never gave up.”
Sabalenka dominated the opening set, winning the first five games before completing a bagel despite briefly facing resistance.
Kasatkina, who switched allegiance to Australia last year, showed greater resolve in the second set and briefly led after securing an early break. However, Sabalenka quickly recovered, drawing level at 2-2 before raising her level late in the match to seal victory.
The win improved Sabalenka’s head-to-head record against Kasatkina to eight wins from 10 meetings.
She will next face Osaka, taking a 2-1 career advantage into the fourth-round showdown as she continues her pursuit of a first French Open title after finishing runner-up to Coco Gauff last year.
