LONDON, July 7: Second seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus recovered from a poor first set to beat Varvara Gracheva 2-6 7-5 6-2 on Friday and reach the third round at Wimbledon.
The 2021 semi-finalist at the All England Club is only behind world number one Iga Swiatek (40) for match wins on the Tour this year with 35. However, her status as one of the favourites to lift the Venus Rosewater Dish was severely tested.
She struggled badly in the opening set, with Gracheva, representing France for the first time since switching nationality from Russia last month, moving around with ease in the sunshine on Court One. Sabalenka, 25, sent a forehand wide of the tramlines in the sixth game, one of 16 unforced errors in the set, to hand an early break to the 22-year-old, who saved three break points to extend her lead before breaking again to take the set.A huge upset looked on the cards before Sabalenka found her rhythm midway through the second set, executing a cute drop shot to seal a hold to love. A huge roar after a hold at 5-5 powered her through to breaking Gracheva and serving out the set to level the match. She secured another break after a double fault from Gracheva and smashed an ace down the middle to complete her comeback, (Agencies)
