Sabalenka keeps three-peat dream alive after hard-fought victory at US Open

[p]The world number one from Belarus fired 29 winners, with 10 aces, and didn't face a break point, but that didn't tell the entire tale of match that saw 92nd-ranked [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/rakhimova-kamilla/boU2UKtN/"]Rakhimova[/a] push [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sabalenka-aryna/vyhksgUB/"]Sabalenka[/a] hard in a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/rakhimova-k-boU2UKtN/sabalenka-a-vyhksgUB/?mid=8UAQD7Si"]second-set slugfest[/a].[/p][p][b]"She played incredible tennis, she really pushed me so hard in the second set," [/b]Sabalenka said. [b]"I'm super happy that I was able to close this match in straight sets because she's a fighter."[/b][/p][p]Sabalenka, whose world number one ranking is under threat in New York, got off to a strong start, breaking Rakhimova in her first service game and holding her own serve with ease.[/p][p]Sabalenka didn't miss a first serve until the seventh game of the contest, pocketing the first set in 35 minutes.[/p][image alt="Key match stats" id="c31c11e6-8f71-4ece-8227-44e68cee9250" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="fad9447c-705a-4d7d-b11e-17017b7419e2" original-width="2160" original-height="2700" /][p]But Uzbekistan's Rakhimova dialed up the power in the second set, which featured mammoth service holds from each player before Sabalenka gained the crucial break for a 5-4 lead.[/p][p][b]Sabalenka, who must repeat as champion to have a chance of remaining number one, next faces either 15th-seeded Russian [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/shnaider-diana/028BdVOj/"]Diana Shnaider[/a] or 96th-ranked American [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/townsend-taylor/Y9jUuHka/"]Taylor Townsend[/a].[/b][/p][p]Shnaider knocked Sabalenka out of the quarter-finals at Roland Garros in June.[/p][p]Sabalenka hasn't won a title since her impressive Indian Wells-Miami double in March.[/p][p]As she tries to join Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova as the only women to win three straight US Open titles she said she's trying to tune out expectations - positive and negative.[/p][p][b]"I completely shut down the noise from outside,"[/b] she said. [b]"I'm trying to focus on myself. I know if I'm focused on myself, if I'm pushing myself really hard I know I will have my chances on court."[/b][/p][infobox id="3dc51b3a-107f-482b-9173-a97d347ef1b3" /]