It wasn’t often pretty, but two-time defending Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka has extended a few impressive streaks while becoming one of the first players to advance to the fourth round of the year’s opening Grand Slam tournament.

The day's first match at Rod Laver Arena was hardly vintage tennis, but Sabalenka was pleased to come away unscathed.

Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka had to battle hard to beat Denmark’s Clara Tauson 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 on Friday and reach the second week of the Australian Open 2025 after suffering another bout of the serving jitters.

Top seed Aryna Sabalenka has reached the fourth round of the 2025 Australian Open after defeating Denmark's Clara Tauson. The 26-year-old Belarusian clinched a hard-fought victory with a scoreline of 7-6 (5) 6-4 on Rod Laver Arena.

By Shrivathsa Sridhar MELBOURNE (Reuters) -Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka overcame a wobbly display to reach the Australian Open fourth round while Carlos Alcaraz was at his dazzling best despite

The defending champion shrugs off a shaky display to beat Clara Tauson 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 . Read more at straitstimes.com.