Aryna Sabalenka joins Serena Williams in exclusive WTA 1000 club

Aryna Sabalenka got her title defence at the Madrid Open off to a solid start on Thursday.

The Belarusian, who is among the favourites for Roland Garros later this year, saw off American Peyton Stearns 7-5, 6-3 at the Caja Magica.

Already a three-time winner in Madrid, Sabalenka is aiming to become the first player to claim four titles at the tournament.

The world number two will look to keep her momentum going when she faces Romania’s Jacqueline Cristian in the third round.

Even before that match, Sabalenka has already made history by becoming just the third player to hit 100 main-draw wins in WTA 1000 events since their introduction back in 2009. She joined Simona Halep (188) and Victoria Azarenka (180) on that list.

Aryna Sabalenka marks her 50th WTA 1000 match as world number one

Aryna Sabalenka reached another milestone on Thursday, becoming only the third player to reach 50 WTA 1000 matches while holding the world number one ranking.

Since the WTA introduced the 1000 format in 2009, only Serena Williams and Iga Swiatek have previously reached that milestone, according to OptaAce.

Sabalenka has now spent a total of 87 weeks at the top of the rankings, which is already well past Swiatek’s mark of 75 weeks.

Looking further ahead, Sabalenka’s path could lead her into a matchup against either Anhelina Kalinina or Naomi Osaka in the fourth round.

If she does face Osaka, it would be their third meeting. The head-to-head stands at one win each, but Sabalenka came out on top in their most recent clash at Indian Wells last year.

Peyton Stearns faces another familiar result in Madrid

It’s not the first time Stearns has come up short against Sabalenka in the Spanish capital.

Last year, it was a similar story, with Sabalenka taking their fourth-round meeting 6-2, 6-4.

Sabalenka held firm under pressure in that match, saving 12 of 13 break points and winning nearly 78 percent of her first-serve points while adding three aces to her tally.

The win on Thursday moves Sabalenka to a 3-0 record against Stearns. After the match, she spoke about the challenges of facing the American again.

“That was a super tough match,” Sabalenka said after Thursday’s victory. “Especially like first match on clay and it’s against Stearns, she’s an incredible player, I feel like this court suits her game really well.

“I knew that she was going to go really up high, and I’m glad that the more I was staying on the court, the better I was feeling, and I’m really hoping that in the next one, I’ll bring better tennis.”

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