Aryna Sabalenka has just survived a big scare at the Rome Open as the second-seeded Belarusian needed three sets to beat qualifier Katie Volynets in her opening match at Foro Italico.
Sabalenka, who arrived in Rome in great spirits after finishing as runner-up in Madrid, entered the Volynets match as the absolute favorite. But after the first set, world No. 109 Volynets was up by a set and she was also threatening to open an early second-set break.
Fortunately for Sabalenka, she managed to avoid going down by a set and a break and ultimately found a way to come back and win 4-6 6-3 6-2 after nearly two and a half hours of play and reach the third round.
After surviving the Volynets scare in her Rome opener, Sabalenka will be playing against No. 32 seed Dayana Yastremska for a place in the round-of-16 at Foro Italico. Against Yastremska, Sabalenka has zero wins and three defeats but it should be noted that their last match came in 2019.
How Sabalenka came back to beat Volynets?
After starting the match with a break, Sabalenka surprisingly suffered back-to-back breaks in the second and fourth games as Volynets opened a 3-1 lead.
Down by a break, Sabalenka managed to quickly bounce…
