Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, ranked number one in the world and holder of the US Open title for the past two years, qualified for the round of 16 of the last of the four Grand Slam tournaments of the current season, with her victory on Friday over Uzbek Kamila Rakhimova 6-3, 6-4 in the third round.
The match was briefly halted due to a strong smell of marijuana emanating from the stands surrounding Louis Armstrong Stadium.
Sabalenka stopped for a moment after leading 3-0, and informed the referee that there was a strong smell of marijuana in the air on the field, before resuming play.
Sabalenka said to the referee during the match: “There is a person smoking marijuana, can you intervene?” "The smell is very strong."
Sabalenka started the match strong and broke Rakhimova's serve in the second half to win the first set 6-3.
The Uzbek player, who qualified for the third round in a Grand Slam tournament for the fourth time, provided greater resistance in the second set, but was unable to stop the top seed.
Sabalenka said after the match: “I played a great match. She (Rakhimova) put great pressure on me in the second set, and made me put in a great effort and give my best. “I am very happy that the match was decided in straight sets.”
Sabalenka raised her score against Rakhimova to four wins without defeat, and she also reached the fourth round at the US Open for the sixth consecutive season.
Thus, Sabalenka achieved her sixteenth consecutive victory at the US Open, which is the longest series of its kind in the tournament since American Serena Williams achieved 26 consecutive victories between 2012 and 2015. Sabalenka's last defeat in the tournament was during the final of the 2023 edition against American Coco Gauff.
Since her first participation in the main draw of the US Open in 2018, Sabalenka has achieved 37 victories in singles competitions in the tournament, which is the largest number of victories among all female players during this period.
Sabalenka also reached the fourth round in the last 16 major tournaments in which she participated, in a series that began since the French Open in 2022, and she also tops the list of players with the most victories in the four major tournaments this season, with 16 wins.
Sabalenka said that her focus is on herself amid the pressures surrounding her, adding: “I completely ignore all the noise coming from the outside and focus completely on myself.”
In the round of 16, Sabalenka will meet the winner of the match, American Taylor Townsend, and Russian Diana Schneider, seeded fifteenth.
Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk also qualified for the round of 16, after defeating Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2, on Friday, in the third round.
Kostyuk, seeded 11th in the tournament, started the match strongly and won five of the first six games, before Alexandrova reduced the gap and saved a break point, but the Ukrainian player maintained her superiority and won the first set with a score of 6-3.
Kostyuk was late at the start of the second set by losing the first two games, but she quickly regained the initiative and won the next six games to win the set 6-2.
Kostyuk reached the round of sixteen in the US Open singles competitions for the second time in a row, after reaching this round for the first time in her career last year before her career stopped there.
Kostyuk, ranked second in Ukraine, will meet in the round of 16 with the winner of the match between American Ann Lee and Czech Linda Noskova, as she looks forward to reaching the quarter-finals for the first time in the tournament.
Romanian Sorana Cirstea, ranked 16th in the world and 17th in the tournament, qualified for the round of sixteen after defeating Italian Jasmine Paolini in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3.
Paulini started the match strong, winning the first game and then quickly breaking Cirstea's serve, but the Romanian player quickly regained her balance on her way to deciding the first set in her favor.
In the second set, Paolini broke Cirstea to lead 3-1, but the Romanian responded strongly and won four consecutive games to achieve a well-deserved victory in the end.
This is only the second time that Cirstia has reached the round of sixteen in the US Open singles competitions, after achieving her best achievement in the tournament in 2023 by reaching the quarter-finals.
In the next round, Cirstea will meet the winner of the match between American Jessica Pegula and Canadian Laila Fernandez.
The American team made a strong start in the Women's Basketball World Cup, defeating its Chinese counterpart 94-61, on Friday, on the opening day of the tournament hosted by Germany.
Caitlin Clark shined among the American team, scoring 14 points and 11 assists, while China was led by young player Zhang Ziyu, who is 2.26 meters tall.
Rhyne Howard added 14 points for the American team, while Jackie Young scored 12 points, as the American team achieved its 31st consecutive victory in the World Cup, since its loss to Russia in the semi-finals of the 2006 edition.
Zhang scored 13 points for the Chinese team, and Han Shuo added 11 points and 10 rebounds.
The United States will meet Italy on Saturday in another match in Group D, while China will face the Czech national team on the same day.
Australia and Japan also achieved victory in their first appearance in the Women's Basketball World Cup on Friday.
Steph Talbot scored 19 points to lead Australia to victory over Puerto Rico with a score of 70-54, while the Japanese team finished the match strong to beat Mali with a score of 102-97, with Saki Hayashi contributing 27 points.
The Mali national team led for most of the match before Mai Yamamoto tied the score for Japan for the first time at 79-79, 6 and a half minutes before the end of the final quarter, and Kokoro Tanaka concluded the scoring with a free throw.
The Mali national team was seeking to achieve its second ever victory in the World Cup. The team had defeated Senegal in overtime in the match for fifteenth place in the 2010 tournament, and lost all five of its matches in the 2022 World Cup, which was held in Australia.
Japan will play its next match against Germany, the host country, on Saturday, while Australia will face Türkiye on Sunday.
Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta is enjoying the idea of facing his old friend Xabi Alonso for the first time in the English Premier League, when the defending champion hosts rival Chelsea next Sunday.
The two teams achieved a perfect start this season, with Arsenal and Chelsea each earning 6 points from their first two matches.
Arteta and Alonso, both 44 years old, grew up together in the Spanish Basque Country and have remained close to each other throughout their careers as players and coaches.
The two met for the first time as coaches in a friendly match in 2024 when Alonso was coaching German Bayer Leverkusen, but Sunday's match will be their first meeting in the English Premier League.
Arteta told reporters on Friday: “I am very happy for him.” It's unbelievable; Because of course we have a common history. Facing each other at this level, and with the responsibility we have of managing some of the best clubs in the country, is a truly beautiful experience.”
Chelsea's attack was impressive at the beginning of the season, with Morgan Rogers, Joao Pedro and Cole Palmer regaining their scoring form, but Arteta said that controlling the course of the match would be crucial.
Arteta said: “It will depend on a group of factors, and the situation of the match is a huge factor, especially because they (Chelsea players) in the two matches that the team played, scored goals very early, and this changes the momentum and the course of the match.”
He added: “But they are capable of that, and he (Xabi Alonso) can play in various ways. He seems to be a very successful coach so far.”
Arsenal's name was linked to a number of prominent strikers during the transfer period, including Rogers, Julian Alvarez and Vinicius Junior, but the only addition to the team in the attacking line was the Greek winger Christos Tzoulis, coming from Club Brugge.
However, Arteta brushed off speculation that Arsenal had not achieved what they hoped for in the transfer market.
The Spaniard said: “I don’t know, these are just opinions.” The transfer period has ended, and I prefer to focus on all the great potential we have in this team, and not waste any more time on matters that do not concern us at the moment. This is all, and this is my primary responsibility.”
Arsenal will rely heavily on players such as Kai Havertz, Victor Geukeris and Bukayo Saka, but Arteta insisted that the attack is not weaker compared to last season, despite the departure of Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli.
Arteta said: “We have to understand the reason for the number of minutes played by these players, as well as the players who were injured last year, especially during the first six months, and the data shows a completely different picture. But it is what it is. "This is what we have, and as I said before, we already have some very good players."
