© Getty Images Sport – Julian Finney
Aryna Sabalenka has made an emphatic start to her Australian Open title defense as the Belarusian dropped just one game in her opening match at Melbourne Park. Sabalenka, seeded at No. 2, destroyed German qualifier Ella Seidel 6-0 6-1 to dominantly reach the Australian Open second round.
Sabalenka made a furious start to the match, breaking Seidel three times en route to bageling the 18-year-old in the first set. Sabalenka absolutely dominated the first set as Seidel had one just game point and no break points on the Belarusian’s serve.
The second set started pretty much as the first set as Sabalenka claimed back-to-back breaks in the second and fourth games en route to opening a 5-0 lead. In the sixth game – when Seidel was serving to stay in the match – Sabalenka had two consecutive match points.
At that moment, it looked like Sabalenka would beat Seidel without losing a single game. But then, Seidel won the next four points to win her first game of the match and avoid a bagel.
In the following game, Sabalenka went up 40-0 to clinch three consecutive match points. But Seidel was still refusing to quit, saving those three match points. Sabalenka then earned her…
