Q. Last year you started a match here after midnight, I believe. You started much more on time tonight, and you finished relatively early. How big a difference does that make in your recovery?
ARYNA SABALENKA: Oh, thank you, Carlos. Thank you so much for finishing that match in three sets and making it quick and not too much of a wait for me, because I hate playing the second after 7:00 after guys.
It's the worst. Especially when you play in the later stages of the tournament when the matches get tighter, and there's, like, five sets, and you are, like, it's 12:00, and you're still waiting.
I'm super happy that he did it really quick, and I went on court on time. Now I'll be back, and I'll have some more time to recover.
The top seed navigated a tough first set against Polina Kudermetova before racing through the second, putting together a 7-6 (4), 6-2 victory in an identical time of one hour and 36 minutes, reaching the third round at Flushing Meadows for a fifth straight year.
Sabalenka will next face Leylah Fernandez in a rematch of their 2021 semifinal, a match Fernandez won in three in three sets and the world No. 1 initially claimed not to remember.
“Of course, I do remember a couple of things,” she clarified, “and I love revenge. So, I'm actually super excited facing her here again.”
Sabalenka is scheduled to take on Fernandez on Friday—not too late, perhaps Alcaraz willing.
