MELBOURNE: World No.5 Aryna Sabalenka's winning debut to the year carried on Thursday, as she defeated dangerous floater Shelby Rogers to enter the 3rd round of the 2023 Australian Open.

At Rod Laver Arena, Sabalenka defeated Rogers 6-3, 6-1 to advance to the third round in Melbourne for the third consecutive year. In the match, which lasted 1 hour and 27 minutes, she registered 32 winners, more than double Rogers' 17 victories.

After winning the Adelaide International 1 championship earlier this month, the 24-year-old is off to a perfect start this year. Sabalenka has won her opening six matches of the season twice in the past three seasons, most recently in 2021.

Despite having a strong start to the year and saving about 80% of the break points she faced, Rogers was still able to score first, grabbing a 3-1 lead in the opening set that was full of drawn-out games. However, Sabalenka rallied after losing her composure and won five straight games to retake the lead in the set.

Sabalenka saved a break point in the second set and held for a 1-1 tie by slamming a backhand winner. From that point on, she was unaffected and won the match with a backhand crosscourt shot.

Elise Mertens, the No. 26 seed, who used to be Sabalenka's regular doubles partner, will be her opponent in the third round. Sabalenka and Mertens were a formidable doubles team who won Grand Slam doubles titles in the 2019 US Open and the 2021 Australian Open while they were at the top of their game.

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