China Open: Aryna Sabalenka eases pressure on herself to power past Madison Keys - 'Nobody is going to die'

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Aryna Sabalenka cruised past Madison Keys to move into the quarter-finals of the China Open in Beijing. Sabalenka, the top seed at the tournament, won in straight sets, 6-4 6-3, beating the American No. 18 seed in one hour and five minutes. She extends her unbeaten run to 15 matches, now undefeated since the last-eight stage of the Toronto Masters, where she was beaten by Amanda Anisimova.

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Aryna Sabalenka powered past Madison Keys in straight sets to reach the quarter-finals of the China Open in Beijing.

The Belarusian, the top seed in the Chinese capital, needed an hour and five minutes to beat the American 6-4 6-3 and move into her 10th consecutive tour-level last-eight stage.

Sabalenka's victory sets a new personal record for the world No. 2, who is now undefeated in 15 matches, with her last defeat coming in the Toronto Masters quarter-finals at the hands of Keys' compatriot Amanda Anisimova.

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She will face either Karolina Muchova, who reached the semi-finals of this year's US Open, and the final of last year's French Open, who beat Spain's Cristina Bucsa comprehensively 6-2 6-0.

The three-time Grand Slam champion said afterwards that easing the pressure on herself was paying dividends.

"In the past, I had a lot of difficult things to face," Sabalenka said.

"After you face certain things, you realise it's just sport. Okay, if you're not going to win this match, what happens? Nobody is going to die. You're not going to die. It's okay. You're going to go to another tournament, and you're going to try your best in the next one.
"Before, it felt like if I was not going to win this match, something bad was going to happen. I'm going to die, whatever. But these kinds of thoughts create all of that pressure, all of that frustration, all of that crazy stuff. Nowadays, I'm just working hard, I'm trying to improve myself every day. Every time I'm on the court, I try to give my best.
"If you give your best, and you don't win the match, okay. You learn and you try better next time."

Sabalenka has re-found her winning touch on the hard courts, having endured a difficult mid-season following her Australian Open triumph.

She was beaten by the teenager Mirra Andreeva in the quarter-finals of Roland-Garros, before withdrawing from Berlin and Wimbledon in the grass-court swing with a shoulder injury.

Sabalenka can close the gap at the top of the rankings with Iga Swiatek, who decided to sit out of the Beijing tournament due to personal reasons, while she also pulled out of the Korea Open in Seoul citing fatigue.

The other side of the China Open draw has opened up favourably for Sabalenka, with the in-form No. 2 seed Jessica Pegula, who the Belarusian beat in the US Open final, knocked out by the Spaniard Paula Badosa. Meanwhile, former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka was forced to retire in her match against Coco Gauff.