New York: Sabalenka cruised into the third round with a swift 6-1, 6-1 win over 22-year-old Polina Iatcenko, taking just 54 minutes to extend her winning streak in New York to 15 matches. However, the post-match exchange turned tense when a journalist brought up her commercial and promotional commitments leading up to the grand slam at Flushing Meadows.

"How are you finding your mood now that the tournament has started? Obviously last week it's lots of parties and fun and stuff like that," a reporter asked during the press conference.

An irritated Sabalenka called out the premise of the question, asking "what kind of question did he ask?" before directly confronting the reporter.

"You guys are like a joke. Parties? Fun? Why would you even say that? Why would you even think about that? Like, what kind of question is that? Just because I posted some activities with brands and you think that I've been partying?" she said in the press conference.

Reflecting on her rapid victory on court, the top seed expressed satisfaction with her performance and mental approach to her title defense.

"I'm happy with my level. I've been working really hard, but I feel like I'm kind of moving away from trying to be perfect on court," Sabalenka said reflecting on the match. "I know that you cannot be perfect, and I'm just trying to work with what I have right now.

"I'm pretty happy with the level. I'm happy with my focus. I'm happy that I'm able to focus on myself no matter what and being consistent with my focus," she added.

Sabalenka will face Uzbekistan's Kamilla Rakhimova in the third round as she bids to become only the third woman in history to capture three consecutive US Open singles titles. (IANS)