"Wasn't easy, she pushed me a lot" admits Sabalenka after win over Cornet

Aryna Sabalenka kicked off her Qatar Open campaign with a 6-2 6-2 win over Alize Cornet but despite the result it was a tough match.

The top seed and 2020 champion never faced a break point in 74 minutes and tallied just four double faults, her lowest total in nine matches this season. She surrendered just 14 points in eight service games, giving her more than enough cushion to support four breaks of Cornet's serve. On the match Sabaelenka said:

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"It definitely wasn't easy. It was a really tough match. She played really well, she pushed me a lot. I expected long rallies in this match and I prepared myself for this kind of rallies. The tactic was just to stay in the point as long as I can, push her as much as I can, and to serve well."

n the third round, Sabalenka will face Swiss left-hander Jil Teichmann, who backed up an opening upset of Angelique Kerber with a 7-6(9), 7-5 win over Alison van Uytvanck of Belgium.