Belarus’s Aryna Sabalenka celebrates winning a point against Russia’s Anna Blinkova during their women’s singles tennis match on the sixth day of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Tennis Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 8, 2023. (Photo by SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP)
World number two Aryna Sabalenka reached the Wimbledon fourth round for the second time on Saturday with a straight-sets win over Russia’s Anna Blinkova.
Australian Open champion Sabalenka, who has a chance of taking Iga Swiatek’s world number-one ranking at the tournament, won 6-2, 6-3 on the back of 30 winners, including nine aces under the Court One roof.
The Belarusian will take on another Russian, 21st-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova, for a place in the quarter-finals.
Sabalenka reached the semi-finals on her last appearance at Wimbledon in 2021 but was banned last year due to Belarus’s support of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.