Aryna Sabalenka is hopeful her recovery from injury is heading in the right direction after surviving a marathon match at the Citi Open.
The world No.3 fought her way to a 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, win over Kamilla Rakhimova in a encounter that lasted nearly three hours. With little to separate both players, it was a single break in Sabalenka’s favor during the third set that enabled her to seal victory. She produced a total of 13 aces and won 75% of her first service points.
“I’m super happy to be back on court. I haven’t played for months it feels like,” she said after the match.
“I’m happy to get through this tough match. She played incredible tennis. I’m just super happy to get this win.”
Rakhimova, who is currently ranked 78th in the world, was the first player Sabalenka has faced since the Berlin Open four weeks ago. She was forced to pull out of Wimbledon due to a shoulder injury.
Now on the comeback, the two-time Australian Open champion is staying cautious about her recovery.
“I really hope it’s okay. At least I was able to serve without pain.” She said of her shoulder.
“It’s not going to be easy to come back after injury, especially the one I had.
“I feel okay and we’ll see how I feel tomorrow (Thursday) but I really, really hope I’m going to be all right for the next match.”
Sabalenka will next play either China’s Wang Yafan or Victoria Azarenka.
Another player through to the quarter-finals is Emma Raducanu, who entered the draw as a wildcard. The Brit beat world No.51 Peyton Stearns 7-6(6), 6-2, in her latest match. Raducanu dropped serve once in the match and broke her opponent three times. Earlier in the tournament, she also defeated eighth seed Elise Mertens.
“I’m very pleased with how I managed to come through that. I think it was two very different conditions: super lively, then a lot heavier. I think these conditions really suit her. She was playing really good tennis.” Raducanu said of Sterns.
“I’m really pleased to have found a way through the first set, then raised my level in the second.”
Finally, Caroline Dolehide battled back from a set down to upset Daria Kasatkina 2-6, 7-5, 6-0.