Sabalenka Beats Iatcenko at US Open

Aryna Sabalenka beat Polina Iatcenko 6-1, 6-1 in 53 minutes on Arthur Ashe Stadium on Wednesday night to reach the US Open third round, per the Associated Press. The top seed came to New York looking shaky after three straight fourth-round losses. She left Ashe looking like the defending champion who wants a three-peat.

That is the version Flushing Meadows has been waiting on. Sabalenka is chasing a third straight women's title here, which nobody has done since Serena Williams from 2012 to 2014. She still needs help to stay No. 1 even if she wins the trophy. Matches that last 53 minutes are how you stop the ranking math from becoming the story.

The serve that ended it

Sabalenka won 15 of 16 points on first serve in the opening set and finished 21 of 28 for the match, per AP's Brian Mahoney. Iatcenko, a Russian qualifier ranked 160th coming in, never found a return look that slowed the Belarusian down. The night session on Ashe was supposed to be a power show. It turned into a 53-minute reminder that when Sabalenka's first ball is landing, Round 2 does not get a vote.

"Happy with the level I played today, happy with the focus and happy to be through this match," Sabalenka said afterward, per AP. She had arrived with the No. 1 ranking in danger and with questions about whether the summer slide would follow her into New York. Wednesday night answered the tennis part. The ranking part still needs other results. The tennis part is the one she can control on Ashe.

Three-peat path, rain still rewriting the board

Rain kept outside courts in limbo for a second day, so some players were still finishing first-round leftovers while the defending champion punched through Round 2 under the roof. Jessica Pegula needed only 56 minutes earlier on the same stadium. Carlos Alcaraz was queued to follow Sabalenka at night. The tournament wanted Wednesday to be a clean second-round card. Weather refused. Sabalenka did not wait around for the puddles. She had already beaten Camila Osorio in two sets to open the fortnight. Round 2 was supposed to be the first real temperature check. Iatcenko never made it one.

For her first-round win already on Smacktok, see Sabalenka's opener against Camila Osorio. Pegula's afternoon cruise is live here. Two sets, 53 minutes, third round. That is a night session New York will take every time the No. 1 seed shows up looking like herself again.