Tennis-Sabalenka hammers Bronzetti to reach U.S. Open third round

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Aryna Sabalenka faced little resistance from Lucia Bronzetti as the hard-hitting Belarusian eased past the Italian 6-3 6-1 on Wednesday to claim her spot in the U.S. Open third round.

Sabalenka, who is one of the favourites to win the tournament, put her punishing serve to good use, pounding five aces to just one double fault while never facing a break point.

The second-seeded Sabalenka needed a few games to settle in against the world number 76 but took control of the match when she outlasted Bronzetti in a rally to break for a 4-2 lead in the first set.

Sabalenka broke again to open the one-sided second set and cruised to the finish on a hot day at Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Sabalenka, who reached the final of the tournament last year, rolled to the Cincinnati Open title earlier this month without losing a set and has yet to drop one in her two matches at Flushing Meadows so far this year.

(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; editing by Clare Fallon)