Sabalenka battles past Townsend to set up Noskova US Open quarter-final

Reigning champion beats Townsend in straight sets

Linda Noskova defeats Marta Kostyuk 7-5, 5-7, 6-4

Aryna Sabalenka’s US Open title defence continued to gather steam as she returned to the ­quarter‑finals at Flushing Meadows with a solid ­performance and an assured ­victory, defeating Taylor Townsend 6-4, 6-3.

This was a challenging match despite the routine scoreline, with Sabalenka failing initially to serve out the first set, trailing 1-3 in set two and dropping serve four times. But she handled the decisive moments with composure, rolling through the final five games of the match to advance against the American.