Aryna Sabalenka stays perfect at Wimbledon, rallies past Elise Mertens into quarters

Aryna Sabalenka clinched a tight victory against her former doubles partner Elise Mertens, winning 6-4, 7-6(4), and comfortably advancing to the Wimbledon quarterfinals. The World No. 1 staged a comeback from a break down in the second set and once again progresses without dropping a set so far.

The Belarusian has now reached at least the quarterfinals in 11 consecutive Grand Slam appearances and remains on track for her fourth consecutive final. Sabalenka's next challenge will be the surprising German Laura Siegemund, who comfortably defeated Solana Sierra to reach a Major quarterfinal for the second time in her career.

In the first set, both players showcased strong service games. Sabalenka didn't hesitate to convert her first break opportunity in the fourth game, taking a comfortable 4-1 lead and quickly establishing a good distance from her opponent. However, the Belgian reacted, getting the break back—also on her first chance—and then saving several break points against her to level the score at 4-4.

At that point, Sabalenka appeared more effective on serve than her opponent, winning 80% of points on her first serve compared to Mertens' 65%. Similarly, on second serve, Sabalenka had a 45% success rate against a poor 29% from Mertens. It was precisely Mertens' second serve that proved crucial, allowing the Belarusian to secure one last break before the set closed, giving her a 6-4 advantage after 38 minutes.

Despite the first set, Mertens had managed to rival the three-time Grand Slam champion, making the path far from easy. In the second set, Mertens' first-serve effectiveness dropped—below 50%—but she still managed to hold her service games. In fact, the 29-year-old was the first to get a break, going up 3-1 after converting her first break chance and winning 12 of the previous 15 points played.

However, Sabalenka wouldn't let the match slip away so easily and quickly found her rhythm on serve again. The three-time Grand Slam champion recovered the break and surged ahead to 4-3, at which point she had two more break opportunities, but couldn't convert them. Mertens showed a great level of tennis in the final part of the match, hitting several winners in rallies, surprising Sabalenka multiple times on her backhand side. 

It all came down to the tie-break, which was marked by unforced errors from both sides. However, Sabalenka was the one who showed her class, pulling through in a moment driven more by nerves than by the level of tennis seen in the rest of the match. The World No. 1 ultimately secured the victory 6-4, 7-6(4), guaranteeing her spot in the quarterfinals. Her next opponent will be world No. 104 Laura Siegemund, who recently eliminated Solana Sierra in straight sets.