LONDON — No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka was forced from 5-2 down in the second set and saved four set points before squelching an impressive challenge from McCartney Kessler 6-1, 7-6(9) in the second round of Wimbledon.
She next faces former Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko, who played almost flawlessly to dismiss Antonia Ruzic 6-2, 6-0 in just 66 minutes. The Latvian put behind her the difficulties and 13 double faults of her opening three-set match against Harriet Dart to record a remarkable 34 wins and only 10 unforced errors.
In contrast, Sabalenka was relieved to escape what she called a “real battle” in straight sets.
“She had an incredible level in the second set,” she said in an on-court interview. “She really tested me today and I’m really excited to get through this test… She really stepped up, she played really aggressive. There was a feeling that whatever decisions she made, they would work for her.”
The result mirrored Sabalenka’s only previous meeting with Kessler in the second round of the 2025 Indian Wells, in which she was also stretched to one tiebreaker before winning 7-6(4), 6-3. But the world number one is known for her success in tiebreaks, raising her 2026 record on them to 9-2 after a 22-3 record in 2025. It was also her 21st consecutive tiebreaker victory at Grand Slam level, extending her Open Era record.
How did Kessler push Sabalenka so hard?
After a decisive defeat in the first set, 26-year-old Kessler changed tactics and achieved a brilliant result in the second. She was most effective using intelligently timed approaches to goal, mixed in just enough to keep Sabalenka guessing. And when she got there, Kessler – last year’s Nottingham champion on grass – was magnificent. After beating Sabalenka 4-2, Kessler extended his lead with one of the best net scores of the tournament so far, surviving several full-strength passing attempts before finding the winner from a corner volley.
In total, the American scored 11 of 15 clean points in the second set.
How did Sabalenka save himself in the second set?
Overall, you can trust that the four-time major champion will swing harder and faster with her back to the wall, and that proved true against Kessler. The world number 57 held her first two set points to serve for 5-3; in the first, Sabalenka returned a backhand down the line, and in the second, Kessler hit a long forehand.
The set continued on serve until the tiebreaker, and from the third to the last point, neither player achieved a two-point lead. Kessler held off two more set points: 7-6, saved by Sabalenka’s serve winner, and 8-7 when Sabalenka found a stunning forehand volley to win her fifth of six points in the set.
Kessler saved two match points against her at 6-5 and 9-8, but Sabalenka hit her 32nd winner of the day, a superb forehand, to convert her third.
“Keep quiet and push her again,” Sabalenka said, reminding herself during the most difficult moments. “And maybe you’ll be lucky enough to get this set.”
What to expect from Sabalenka vs Ostapenko?
Sabalenka leads her head-to-head match with Ostapenko 3-1, but the latter won their last meeting – a 6-4, 6-1 triumph in the Stuttgart 2025 final. It will also be their first match on grass, a surface on which Ostapenko holds two titles to Sabalenka’s zero.
Ostapenko beat Sabalenko in the final in Stuttgart and won the ninth title of his career
“Grass is one of my favorite surfaces,” said Ostapenko, who took the prospect of facing the world number one without giving it much thought.
“I like interesting matches,” she said. “I think tennis is a big challenge in general. I don’t think the other things are extra challenges… I just see it as another match. She’s a great player, but I think I need to do what I have to do and focus more on myself.”