Dominant Sabalenka coasts into fourth round

Aryna Sabalenka handed Lesia Tsurenko the dreaded double bagel at the Australian Open - but the scoreline did not bother the Ukrainian.

The defending champion's 6-0 6-0 victory means she has cruised through to the fourth round in Melbourne for the loss of only six games.

At the end of the match there was no handshake, as has been standard between Ukrainian players and those from Russia and Belarus since the start of the war nearly two years ago, although the pair did both put their hands up to acknowledge each other.

"I respect everyone's position," said Sabalenka, who was criticised at the French Open last year for standing at the net as if waiting for a handshake she knew was not going to come from Ukraine's Elina Svitolina.

"She was quite respectful. She said, 'Great play'. She didn't shake my hand, but she was respectful to me, so I appreciate that."

Asked why she maintains the position, Tsurenko said: "This is very tough to explain, you just have to feel what I feel and you will not have these questions for me."

The 34-year-old quickly shrugged off the scoreline, and she said: "I feel like so many things that were so important for me are not important any more, like a tennis match.

"I don't feel like I really care about how I finish the match, what is the score. I care more about the fact I can be here and I can remind the world that the war is still on, I care about the fact that I can earn some money and I can donate and I can help other people."

Last year in Melbourne the tournament held a prominent fundraiser for Ukraine, but the war has slipped down the tennis agenda, as Tsurenko feels it has in society generally.

"People don't want to talk about war, people don't want to hear bad news," she said. "I get a lot of bad