Tiger Sabalenka reaches 13th consecutive Melbourne Grand Slam QF decider – Tennis Now
By Richard Pagliaro Saturday, January 24, 2026
Image source: Australian Open Facebook
Grand Slam sudden death, Alina Sabalenka Continue to resurrect.
World No. 1 Sabalenka breaks Open era record, conquering Canadians in 20 consecutive Grand Slam finals Victoria Mboko 6-1, 7-6(1), she entered the Grand Slam quarter-finals for the 13th consecutive time at the Australian Open.
Later, the tiebreaker Sabalenka cited two reasons for her success in overtime: She was extremely focused and felt that her opponent realized her omnipotence and retreated slightly on the break.
“I’m just trying to play point-by-point,” Sabalenka told ESPN’s Chris Barden. “You guys keep talking about it and I feel like my opponents saw that and were a little behind in the decider, which was good for my game.
“[Mobko is] Top 20, top 10 for sure. She plays a lot of games and I’ve been following her games so I kind of know her game style. I just wanted to go in and apply as much pressure as possible and stay mentally strong, and then I would win. “
Not only did Sabalenka win this season, she also didn’t drop a set, improving her record to a perfect 9-0.
Brisbane champion Sabalenka will face American teenager Novak Djokovic declares Eva Jovic the future world number one, Compete for a spot in the semi-finals.
Jovic, the 29th seed, defeated the 94th-ranked veteran in 10 consecutive games Yulia Putintseva6-0, 6-1, winning in 53 minutes. Jovic converted six of 12 break points and quadrupled Putintseva’s winner (17-4) to reach the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for the first time.
How difficult was Sabalenka’s tiebreaker?
The top seed defeated Anastasia Potapova in a two-set tiebreak in the third round and has not lost a Grand Slam tiebreak since her 2023 French Open semifinal against Karolina Muchova.
It was a conundrum for opponents who aimed to pile on the pressure by pushing the powerful Belarusian into overtime, only to see Sabalenka turn the decider into heartbreak.
The first meeting between the two today was actually two completely different stories.
During warm-ups, some bird feathers floated on the court at Rod Laver Arena as a visual metaphor for the game.
Sabalenka had held 6-1 and 4-1 leads for seven straight games but failed to deliver in the initial closing stages, failing to convert three match points on serve at 6-1, 5-4 and seeing 19-year-old Mboko fight back.
Facing the world number one for the first time in the fourth round of her first Grand Slam, Mboko started strong, earning two break points in the first game but Sabalenka held on.
The two sides reached a stalemate, and Sabalenka found her range and rhythm and began to hit the baseline and close to the net with energy to win the first set.
Overall, Sabalenka won 10 of 11 attempts at the net – a statistic that should make her associate coach, former world No. 1 doubles player Max Mirnyi, proud – and she stepped up in key phases.
In front of the attack net, Sabalenka blocked the backhand volley winner and sealed the first set with love.
In a tense first set, Sabalenka saved two break points before winning five straight games to take a set lead.
The 2025 AO finalist batted in command in the opener. Sabalenka hit 15 winners in the 31 minutes of the first set, nine more than the Canadian, and made only four errors.
Sabalenka won seven games in a row to lead 6-1, 2-0. Despite a few double faults, she led 3-1. When Mboko made a double fault in the first half, Sabalenka extended the lead to 6-1 and 4-1.
Montreal champion Mboko, the first Canadian woman to reach the fourth round of the AO since Genie Bouchard in 2015, fought back from Love-30 down to make it 3-4.
In the quarterfinals, Sabalenka led 40-15 at 5-4, but Mboko saved the first match point with a forehand from the bottom line. Sabalenka missed a long backhand on the second match point and then a long forehand on the third match point.
At the net, Mboko’s confidence continued to grow, and she used a straight forehand return to break serve and tie the game at 5. Mboko hit a wide ace to make it 6-5, her Wilson racket rattling as she walked to her courtside seats.
After being tied in the 12th game, Sabalenka’s consecutive strong serves were burned, forcing a decisive game.
In the decider, the Tigers hit a forehand winner from the baseline, slammed an ace, blasted a backhand winner, and then dialed in a diagonal forehand winner to take a 6-0 lead.
On the fifth match point, Sabalenka hit a forehand to improve her AO record to 32-6.
If Sabalenka can play today’s match with the same dynamic tennis she showed in the opening and closing moments, she will be hard-pressed to reach her fourth consecutive AO final.
