Aryna Sabalenka eases into semis

Rome, May 15

Aryna Sabalenka showed no ill-effects from her previous marathon match as she eased past Jelena Ostapenko to reach the semifinals of the Italian Open.

The second-seeded Sabalenka needed just 73 minutes to win 6-2 6-4, setting up match point with an ace and then sealing the result when Ostapenko, the 2017 French Open champion, returned into the net.

In men’s action, 29th-seeded Alejandro Tabilo of Chile extended his surprising run by beating Zhang Zhizhen 6-3 6-4 to follow up his upset victories over Novak Djokovic and Karen Khachanov in the previous two rounds. Tabilo, who hasn’t dropped a set during his first appearance in Rome, served an ace down the T on his first match point.

Sabalenka, who didn’t allow the ninth-seeded Ostapenko a break opportunity, showed no sign of the back problem that required treatment during Monday’s three-setter against Elina Svitolina that ended well after midnight local time. The 26-year-old Sabalenka said she didn’t even practise on Tuesday and focused instead on treatment and recovery. “I would definitely say that it was the best performance of the tournament,” Sabalenka said. “I’m super happy that I was able to play without pain today.” — AP