Sabalenka ready for her 1st big test in New York

After missing Wimbledon and the Olympic Games with a right shoulder injury (a month's absence), Arina Sabalenka had a little trouble getting back into the swing of things in Washington and Toronto. But everything was back to normal in Cincinnati. There, the world No.2 won the title without dropping a single set, even outclassing Iga Swiatek in the semi-finals.

The Belarusian continued in the same vein at the US Open where, despite dropping a set in the 3rd round to Ekaterina Alexandrova (2-6, 6-1, 6-2), she continues to recite her tennis.

In Sunday's Round of 16, she clearly dominated her former doubles partner, Elise Mertens, with a solid performance on all the important points (6-2, 6-4). She saved every one of the 10 break points she had to defend, while converting 3 of the 9 she was awarded.

Beware, however, as things could get even more complicated in the quarter-finals on Tuesday, when Sabalenka faces her first big test. She'll be up against Zheng Qinwen, who was crowned Olympic champion last July and has been in fine form since the start of the New York fortnight.

In the Round of 16, the Chinese player defeated Donna Vekic in a rematch of the Olympic final, after a hard-fought match lasting almost 3 hours and ending at 2:15 a.m. on Monday (7-6, 4-6, 6-2).