"Everything is moving in the right direction," says Sabalenka after reaching Cincinnati quarterfinals

Aryna Sabalenka will indeed be in the quarterfinals of the WTA 1000 in Cincinnati. The Belarusian, world No. 1, is gaining momentum in this tournament after her two previous victories.

Absent in Montreal, the defending champion of this Ohio tournament dismissed Marketa Vondrousova (7-5, 6-1), Emma Raducanu (7-6, 4-6, 7-6), and Jessica Bouzas Maneiro (6-1, 7-5). She will now face Elena Rybakina in an attempt to reach the semifinals. For now, Sabalenka seems satisfied with her level of play in this tournament.

"At the start of the match, Jessica (Bouzas Maneiro) didn’t necessarily play well, but I took advantage of my opportunities and kept her under pressure on her service games. Then, the situation changed a bit, and she found her rhythm. It became a whole different story.

The battle really started in the second set, but I’m happy with the result and winning in straight sets. I didn’t want to get dragged into another three-hour marathon.

Striving to improve every day is the best way to train. I’m not saying it’s always easy—quite the opposite. It’s about determination. I know I need to set fear aside during matches to keep evolving, and I want to be even better.

Every day, I try to maintain the confidence I build on the court to be better than the day before. I’m improving with every match I play here. It’s as if things are working even better than in the previous match.

If I analyze the three matches I’ve played here this week, I’d say everything is moving in the right direction, and that’s what I want to focus on," Sabalenka told *Punto de Break* after her victory over the Spaniard, ranked 42nd in the world.