Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
AAP
AAP
Sport
Shayne Hope

Sabalenka powers into Open quarter-finals

Big-hitting Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka has powered into her first Australian Open quarter-final. (James Ross/AAP PHOTOS) (AAP)

Aryna Sabalenka has showcased her awesome power by blasting 32 winners to charge into the Australian Open quarter-finals for the first time.

The world No.5 continued her perfect start to the year with a 7-5 6-2 win over 12th seed Belinda Bencic at Rod Laver Arena on Monday.

Bencic raced to a 4-2 lead but won just one of the next six games, dropping the opening set with a double-fault.

Sabalenka's superior serve was telling as she ran away with an eighth consecutive straight-sets victory of the year in one hour and 27 minutes.

"I'm super happy with the win today," Sabalenka said.

"(Bencic) is an unbelievable player, she played so good, and I'm super happy with the level today."

Sabalenka has spoken about trying to be more "boring" on the court - keeping her emotions in check - and did not drop her head when down a break early.

"It takes me a little while to understand that negative emotion is not going to help you on court," Sabalenka said.

"You just have to stay strong and believe, no matter what, and do everything you can to get back in the score and to win the match.

"I'm super happy with my mindset during the game today."

Sabalenka has made three grand slam semi-final appearances in the last two years but has never previously made the last eight at Melbourne Park.

The 24-year-old will meet unseeded Croatian Donna Vekic or Czech teenager Linda Fruhvirtova on Wednesday for a place in the semis.

Former world No.1 Karolina Pliskova has also reached the quarter-finals after beating China's Shuai Zhang 6-0 6-4.

The Czech 30th seed blew through a near-flawless first set in just 21 minutes, pummelling 15 winners and half a dozen aces in the process.

Pliskova will meet either fourth seed Caroline Garcia or Poland's Magda Linette in the last eight.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.