{
  "type": "article",
  "title": "Ten breaks of serve later, Sabalenka survives Townsend scare to reach US Open last eight",
  "summary": "Aryna Sabalenka fought back from a shaky start against Taylor Townsend to win 6-4, 6-3, extending her unbeaten US Open run to 18 matches and matching Serena Williams' streak of six straight quarter-finals.",
  "content": "Aryna Sabalenka needed every ounce of her competitive nerve to get past Taylor Townsend 6-4, 6-3 and reach the US Open quarter-finals for the sixth year running, a feat only Serena Williams has managed at Flushing Meadows in recent memory.\n\nA contest that refused to settle down\nNothing about this fourth-round clash followed a straight line. The opening set alone produced five successive breaks of serve, largely because both women were reading each other's deliveries with unusual precision rather than because either was serving poorly. Sabalenka needed a second opportunity to serve out that first set before Townsend struck back at the start of the second, racing into a 3-1 lead that looked, for a moment, like the start of a genuine upset. Instead of wobbling, the top seed answered immediately with a love break to level things up, and from that point on she barely let her opponent breathe. Across the last five games of the match, Sabalenka lost only five points in total, closing out the contest in 75 minutes.\n\nA streak that keeps growing\nThe result stretched Sabalenka's unbeaten run at this tournament to 18 matches in a row, a streak that now spans three full years and includes back-to-back title runs in 2024 and 2025. At 28, she has now won 38 main-draw singles matches at the US Open since her debut in 2018, more than any other woman across that stretch. She has also become the first woman since Williams' run in 2016 to reach six consecutive US Open quarter-finals, and this latest win leaves her three victories away from matching a feat only Williams has pulled off before her, winning three US Open titles in a row.\n\nTownsend's feathers and her firepower\nTownsend, a doubles specialist known for sharp instincts around the net, walked onto the court in a long, black-feathered outfit and backed up the entrance with genuine substance, crowding the net, returning superbly and covering the court well enough to keep the outcome in doubt deep into the second set. Much of the crowd was openly behind the American, adding another layer of difficulty to an afternoon that never let Sabalenka fully relax. Afterwards, Sabalenka admitted the challenge forced her to narrow her focus down to the smallest unit of the match possible, saying, \"I was just trying to stay focused on myself, not only point by point but ball by ball.\" She separately praised Townsend's net play, her return game and her movement as genuinely impressive, and thanked the spectators who cheered for her at moments even though she had expected the crowd to side with her opponent throughout the contest.\n\nWhy this run matters for the rest of her season\nThe stakes behind this scoreline go well beyond a single match. Sabalenka knows that lifting the trophy again is her only realistic route to retaining the world number one ranking, a fact that appeared to sharpen her response the moment Townsend edged ahead early in the second set. The win also keeps alive her hopes of avoiding a rare blank season: after exiting in the fourth round at Wimbledon, this remains her clearest chance to prevent this year from becoming her first season without a major title since 2022. On the hard courts where she has enjoyed her greatest major success, Sabalenka has reached the semi-finals every single year since 2020, and this latest quarter-final spot extends that run of reliability into another edition of the tournament.\n\nChasing history at Flushing Meadows\nWilliams' shadow hangs over almost every landmark Sabalenka is now approaching. The American great was the last woman to string together six straight US Open quarter-final appearances before Sabalenka matched it this year, and she remains the only player in the tournament's recent history to have won three consecutive titles here. Every match Sabalenka now plays in this draw doubles as a step towards, or away from, standing alongside one of the sport's most decorated champions on both of those counts.\n\nWhat this means for you\nTennis fans tracking Sabalenka's title defence now have a clearer picture of what is riding on the next few rounds.\n\n• World number one status is on the line: Sabalenka can only keep her top ranking if she goes all the way and lifts the trophy again. That makes every remaining match in this tournament a direct swing factor for who ends the season as world number one.\n• A rare historical record is within reach: she is three wins away from matching Serena Williams' run of three consecutive US Open titles. Fans following the storyline will want to watch whether she can complete that feat this fortnight.\n• Her season narrative hangs on this run: after exiting Wimbledon in the fourth round, this is Sabalenka's clearest remaining chance to avoid her first season without a major title since 2022. That raises the stakes on every match she plays here.\n• Home-court reliability continues: she has reached the semi-finals at this event every year since 2020, so anyone planning to watch the back end of the tournament can reasonably expect her to be part of it again.\n\nQuestions & Answers\n\n1. What was the final score of the match?\nSabalenka beat Taylor Townsend 6-4, 6-3.\n\n2. How many consecutive US Open wins does this give Sabalenka?\nThis is her 18th consecutive win, extending her unbeaten run at the tournament to three years.\n\n3. How many total US Open singles wins does Sabalenka now have?\nShe has 38 wins since her debut in 2018, more than any other woman in that span.\n\n4. Whose record is Sabalenka chasing?\nShe is three wins away from matching Serena Williams' run of three consecutive US Open titles.\n\n5. How long did the match last?\nThe match lasted 75 minutes.\n\n6. What did Sabalenka say about the crowd?\nShe thanked spectators who cheered for her at times even though most of the crowd was supporting Townsend.\n\n7. Why does this quarter-final matter for Sabalenka's ranking?\nShe must win the whole tournament to have a chance of retaining her world number one ranking.\n\n8. What happened to Sabalenka at Wimbledon?\nShe exited in the fourth round, and is now trying to avoid her first season without a major title since 2022.",
  "url": "https://trendkia.com/en/tennis/dasa-bara-sarva-tuti-phira-bhi-sabalenka-ne-townsend-ko-harakara-banai-us-open-kvartaraphainala-men-jagaha-28710",
  "category": "Tennis",
  "publishedAt": "2026-09-06",
  "tags": [
    "Aryna Sabalenka",
    "US Open",
    "Taylor Townsend",
    "tennis quarterfinal",
    "Serena Williams record",
    "women's tennis"
  ],
  "language": "en",
  "site": "TrendKia"
}