{"id":432936,"date":"2026-01-25T20:25:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-25T20:25:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/432936\/"},"modified":"2026-01-25T20:25:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-25T20:25:14","slug":"sabalenka-sets-tie-break-record-to-reach-last-eight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/432936\/","title":{"rendered":"Sabalenka sets tie-break record to reach last eight"},"content":{"rendered":"

Aryna Sabalenka broke Novak Djokovic’s Open era record of consecutive tie-breaks won at Grand Slams to defeat teenage Canadian Victoria Mboko and set up a mouth-watering Australian Open quarter-final against another of tennis’ rising stars – 18-year-old Iva Jovic.<\/p>\n

The two-time champion won 6-1 7-6 (7-1) on Rod Laver Arena – sealing it with her 20th tie-break triumph in a row – and is yet to drop a set at this year’s Australian Open.<\/p>\n

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“It’s putting pressure on my opponents so that is what I like playing tie-breaks nowadays,” Sabalenka said after her latest victory.<\/p>\n

“I just go into the tie-breaks and try to not think about this is a tie-break and I try and play point by point and I guess that’s the key to this consistency.”<\/p>\n

In response to his record being topped, 24-time major winner Djokovic jokingly posted on X: “I’m upset right now”.<\/p>\n

Belarusian Sabalenka has now reached at least the quarter-finals in 13 consecutive Grand Slam appearances and is two wins away from a fourth successive final in Melbourne.<\/p>\n

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The champion in 2023 and 2024, Sabalenka lost last year’s final to American Madison Keys.<\/p>\n

“Her tie-break record is absolutely incredible, and she has always backed herself when the pressure is on,” said former British number one Annabel Croft on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra.<\/p>\n

The 27-year-old appeared to be cruising towards a comfortable victory against 17th seed Mboko, leading by a set and a double break.<\/p>\n

However, she almost let a 4-1 lead slip in the second set and eventually clinched victory in a tie-break.<\/p>\n

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Former world number five Daniela Hantuchova added: “When you’re going into a tie-break she only has one plan and she trusts it.<\/p>\n

“She is never ever going to question herself, and that is not an easy thing to do when you are a set and 4-1 up – and suddenly you find yourself in a very, very difficult and stressful position.”<\/p>\n

\"Iva<\/p>\n

Jovic won her first WTA title at the Guadalajara Open in September, aged 17 [Getty Images]<\/p>\n

Teenager Jovic says she is “really excited” to test herself against “the best” after booking a maiden Grand Slam quarter-final against Sabalenka.<\/p>\n

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The American dropped only one game in a convincing 6-0 6-1 win against Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva.<\/p>\n

Asked about meeting Sabalenka in the next round, Jovic said: “I think I’m just going to try to keep taking care of my side of the net.<\/p>\n

“Obviously she’s number one for a reason and has had so much success at this tournament, but that’s what I want.<\/p>\n

“I said last year that I hoped to be able to play here this year, because you definitely want to play the best and see how it goes. I’m really excited.”<\/p>\n

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Jovic, who is the 29th seed in Melbourne, had not previously been beyond the second round of a major.<\/p>\n

She backed up a straight-set win over seventh seed Jasmine Paolini, her first victory against a player ranked in the world’s top 10, by breezing through her fourth-round tie against Putintseva in just 53 minutes.<\/p>\n

Svitolina downs teenager Andreeva to book meeting with Gauff\"Elina<\/p>\n

Elina Svitolina has reached the last eight in consecutive years for the second time, having also reached that stage in 2018 and 2019 [Getty Images]<\/p>\n

Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina, seeded 12th, set up a quarter-final with world number three Coco Cauff following her 6-2 6-4 victory over Russian eighth seed Mirra Andreeva.<\/p>\n

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Svitolina felt she had to “fight until the very last point” in a “nerve-wracking” match, although she dominated the key moments.<\/p>\n

The 31-year-old broke Andreeva’s serve in three consecutive games in the opening set and also saved seven break points from a possible nine, including three in the second set, to avoid conceding a double-break.<\/p>\n

Svitolina, a four-time quarter-finalist at the Australian Open, is on a nine-match winning streak in 2026 and has dropped six games or fewer in three of her four matches in Melbourne.<\/p>\n

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Gauff made it safely through to the quarter-finals in Melbourne for a third successive year with a resilient win over Czech 19th seed Karolina Muchova.<\/p>\n

The world number three raced through the first set, but Muchova pulled back in the second before Gauff held her nerve to serve out the 6-1 3-6 6-3 victory on her fourth match point.<\/p>\n

Gauff, a two-time major champion, has gone on to win all four tournaments in which she has faced Muchova – including the 2023 US Open.<\/p>\n

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However, she has never reached the final at Melbourne.<\/p>\n

Speaking after her win, Gauff credited her run to the last eight to “trusting myself”.<\/p>\n

“My history has been tough with the serve but I think today was great, there was one loose serve in the second set but after that it was pretty good,” she said.<\/p>\n

“That’s the biggest thing, just trusting myself and knowing that I’ve put in the work in practice and knowing it will show up in the matches.<\/p>\n

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Gauff then wrote “confidence is the key” on a camera lens after the victory, which improved her head-to-head record with Muchova to 5-0.<\/p>\n

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