Tennis Australian Open Women's Singles -

Australian Open 2025: Resilient Aryna Sabalenka squeezes past Clara Tauson to reach last 16 - 'I was thinking I'm done'

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Aryna Sabalenka was pushed "to the limit" by Clara Tauson, but the world No. 1 found a way to get it done as she progressed into the last 16 of the 2025 Australian Open. The defending champion, who was broken five times, came through 7-6(5) 6-4 on Rod Laver Arena in tough conditions, and the Belarusian admitted afterwards that she had had doubts in her mind about how she could pull off a victory.

Sabalenka survives tough test by Tauson - Australian Open highlights

Video credit: TNT Sports

Aryna Sabalenka said that there were many times she was "done" during her third-round victory over Clara Tauson at the Australian Open.

The world No. 1 came through 7-6(5) 6-4 on Rod Laver Arena, but was broken an incredible five times by her Danish opponent as she struggled to find her rhythm in tricky conditions in Melbourne.

Sabalenka, defending her title for the second successive year, got off to the worst possible start, having her serve breached in the opening game of the match, but her return game was up to scratch as she and Tauson traded service breaks for the first eight games of the first set.

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Tauson served for the first at 5-4, but was pegged back by Sabalenka, who battled back to 6-5, before spurning four set points of her own as she was dragged into a tie-break.

She converted her fifth set point in the breaker, however, and that gave her the platform to kick on.

She broke to go 2-1 up in the second, looking to be in a promising position to progress, but Tauson had other ideas, levelling the scores at 4-4.

However, Sabalenka raised her level once more in the very next game, piling on the pressure to earn the break back and serve out the affair nervously, facing two break-back points before she was able to close it out.

The Belarusian cut a mightily relieved figure in her post-match interview, saying she had surprised herself with her mental fortitude.

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Video credit: TNT Sports

"That was a great battle," Sabalenka said.

"She played unbelievable tennis. It was really tough to play against her today. I was super happy that I was able to stay in the game, push myself to the limit and try my best to put the ball back on that side and get this win. Oh my god, what an atmosphere.

"I would say that conditions here were really tough to serve in. It was heavy, the court was slow. It was heavy conditions and every time we were playing and making those breaks, it wasn’t disappointment, it was more, ‘Come on, just keep pushing, trying your best’.

"It was really important to get all of those breaks back. It could have gone either way. I’m super happy that I was able to close out this match and be in the fourth round.

"I was playing this match thinking, ‘Wow, girl, you’re really tough’. So many times I was thinking ‘okay, I’m done’, but I had to keep pushing."

The top seed faces the winner of 23rd seed Magdalena Frech and 14th seed Mirra Andreeva in the last 16.