Sabalenka stays strong in crucial moments, eases past Katie Boulter in Toronto

Aryna Sabalenka (No. 3) triumphed against Katie Boulter (No. 33) and is through to the quarterfinals of the Canadian Open. The 2-time Grand Slam champion remains in contention in Toronto despite not displaying her best form, with evident inconsistencies on serve.

However, the Belarusian showcased her superiority in this type of match, being more consistent in the crucial points, ultimately securing a comfortable victory without much trouble, 6-3, 6-3.

In the early stages of the match, Sabalenka was hesitant with her serve compared to Boulter. The Belarusian saved some break points in the first and fifth games, struggling to maintain parity; however, she secured a break midway through the set and moved ahead 4-2.

From there, the match tilted in Sabalenka’s favor, as she reduced her unforced errors and improved her serving efficiency. The World No. 3 held serve to close out the set 6-4. Both Sabalenka and Boulter managed only around 50% of their first serves in, but the Belarusian was better in the critical moments, saving all four break points she faced and needing just one opportunity to break and take the lead.

In the second set, Sabalenka didn’t significantly improve her first serve percentage but avoided the double faults she committed in the first set (4). The Belarusian wasn’t entirely precise from the baseline but was still superior to her opponent. She secured a break in the fifth game to take the lead.

Boulter had a couple of break opportunities before the set's end but couldn’t capitalize on them. While Boulter served to stay in the match, Sabalenka created a new break opportunity that proved decisive in closing out the win, 6-3, 6-3, after an hour and 24 minutes.

In the quarterfinals, she will face Amanda Anisimova (No. 132), who has already knocked out Daria Kasatkina (No. 12) and Anna Kalinskaya (No. 17). The American has guaranteed her return to the top 100 after 15 months and has reached the quarterfinals of a WTA 1000 for the third time in her career.