Melbourne –

Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka shrugged off a shaky display to fight her way into the fourth round of the Australian Open with a 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 victory over Clara Tauson on Friday.

The day's first match at Rod Laver Arena was hardly vintage tennis, but Sabalenka was pleased to come away unscathed after a little over two hours in bright sunshine and challenging conditions.

"She played some unbelievable tennis," Sabalenka said. "It was really tough to play against her today. I'm just super happy that I was able to just stay in the game, and I was able to push myself, honestly, to the limit.

"It was really important to get all of those breaks back. It could have gone either way."

Sabalenka has been far from her devastating best in the first two rounds, and against Tauson, she dropped serve four times in a wobbly opening set. Her opponent, however, was equally profligate as both players struggled with the sun and breeze.

"Conditions are really tough for serving, the balls are heavy and the surface slow," Sabalenka said.

It was Sabalenka's worst start to a match since 2022 in San Diego, when her serve was broken four times in the opening set, but the 26-year-old said there was nothing to worry about.

"After a few games, the balls became much heavier and it's hard to serve aggressive, powerful serves, so you just try to direct the serve somehow and start building the rallies," Sabalenka said.

"Tauson received it very well, and I did too and that's why it was such a rather unusual match. Thank God that I succeeded in managing the conditions."

Sabalenka's serving woes were so severe three years ago that she served underarm in one contest at the Adelaide International and ended the season with 440 double faults — 151 more than any other player.

She quickly got to work on improving that area of her game after employing a biomechanics expert and tasted success in a Grand Slam for the first time at Melbourne Park in 2023.

"Over the years, I struggled a lot with different stuff," she told reporters.

"I think all of those difficult experiences make me a really tough person."

The first hold in the eighth game on Friday was greeted with a big round of applause as world No. 42 Tauson surged to a 5-3 lead, but Sabalenka roared back like a tiger, the animal that has become her totem.

The top seed stabilized her own delivery and then drew level at 5-5 before Tauson recovered to save four set points and force a tiebreak, where she matched the big-hitting Belarusian punch for punch in the first 10 points.

Sabalenka shifted up a gear, however, and earned a set point with a stinging backhand winner before closing it out with a big forehand to leave Auckland champion Tauson a little deflated after 63 minutes of toil.

The Dane gifted her opponent a break early in the second set but continued to carve out chances and made it to 4-4, only to fade away after a marathon game that had seven deuces as the momentum shifted one last time.

Sabalenka completed the win on serve to keep alive her bid to become the first woman to capture three successive titles at Melbourne Park since Martina Hingis from 1997 to 1999.