Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka starts strong in US Open, delivering a powerful performance against Rebeka Masarova

The defending champion, Aryna Sabalenka, started her US Open campaign on the right foot, defeating Switzerland's Rebeka Masarova 7-5, 6-0. The world No. 1 had a day without major setbacks, reaching 95 victories in Grand Slam tournaments and advancing past the first round of a major for the 20th consecutive time.

The three-time Grand Slam champion faced a resilient opponent in the first set but managed to seize momentum in the second, winning seven consecutive games before closing out an impressive victory at Arthur Ashe Stadium. In the second round, Sabalenka will face Russia's Polina Kudermetova, with whom she has only one prior match from earlier in the year.

Masarova was a tricky opponent, having already caused problems for Sabalenka in their match at the Berlin Ladies Open two months prior (a 6-2, 7-6 win for Sabalenka). The Swiss tennis player, currently ranked No. 109 in the world, troubled Sabalenka almost from the start, getting a couple of break points in the third game, which the Belarusian managed to save. Nevertheless, in the fifth game, the world No. 1 again struggled with her serve, and Masarova stole a break that put her ahead 3-2.

Despite this, the three-time Grand Slam champion didn't let it affect her confidence and quickly responded with a break back, leveling the score. For Masarova, the first serve was key, and when playing with the second serve, she clearly tried to shorten the points as much as possible, taking big risks. Precisely at 5-6, she found herself caught in a couple of long rallies that ultimately fell in Sabalenka's favor. Sabalenka fought to get the decisive break on her first set point, closing it out 7-5 after 49 minutes.

Sabalenka's first-serve percentage was only 54%, and she struggled to hold her service games, in addition to Masarova standing firm, with both players tied at 11 winners and 10 unforced errors.

In the second set, things started complicated for Sabalenka, with doubts on her serve and quickly finding herself at 0-40 to start the set. However, these were the only moments of doubt for the Belarusian, who took the next five points consecutively and started strong, winning her first service game. The world No. 1 took advantage of the momentum and, in the second set, seized her first break opportunity to take the lead. This led to Sabalenka's best tennis—though also Masarova's most error-prone moments—as she committed error after error, making everything easy for the defending champion.

From the second game on, Sabalenka won 16 of the next 17 points to get ahead 5-0. It looked like a bagel was on the way for a dominant Sabalenka, but Masarova had a last-minute reaction to defend her serve. It was of little use, as Sabalenka didn't hesitate with her own serve and ended up closing out the victory 7-5, 6-1.

Sabalenka's next opponent will be 22-year-old Polina Kudermetova, currently ranked No. 60 in the world. Kudermetova advanced after her first-round opponent, Nuria Parrizas, unfortunately had to retire due to injury at 2-2. With this, the Russian player has advanced to the second round of a Grand Slam for the first time in her career.

They have one previous matchup from earlier this year, in the final of the Brisbane International. It was a challenging match for the Belarusian, who had to come from a set down to defeat the younger Kudermetova sister 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 and claim her first title of the season.