Aryna Sabalenka will face Jelena Ostapenko in the third round of Wimbledon after being made to work hard for an entertaining victory over McCartney Kessler.

Having taken the opening set on Court One, Sabalenka had to save four set points in order to win the second, ultimately prevailing in an epic tie-break.

The relief was visible when the top seed completed a 6-1 7-6 (11-9) victory in one hour and 39 minutes.

Sabalenka broke twice and did not surrender her serve in the first set, though the contest was slightly tighter than the scoreline suggested, as she had to fend off break points in two separate games.

But a true test came in the second set, with a superb Kessler taking full advantage of a sloppy Sabalenka service game to break through in game six.

Kessler then produced some spectacular play to move 5-2 ahead, and she had two set points while serving at 5-3 up, but Sabalenka showed grit to survive and ultimately break back.

The American's chances of taking the match the distance suffered a blow when Sabalenka won the first two points of the tie-break.

But Kessler was not to be deterred and forced her way back into contention, leading 5-4.

As momentum swung both ways, Kessler brilliantly saved two match points but could not convert when two more set points came her way in the breaker at 7-6 and 8-7.

And Sabalenka's quality told in the end as she finally prevailed, taking her third opportunity to clinch victory with a powerful forehand winner.

There was also a win for 10th seed Karolina Muchova on Wednesday as she defeated Chinese veteran Shuai Zhang 6-3 6-2.

Muchova, who is in fine form after winning the Bad Homburg Open, has now won both of her first two Wimbledon matches in straight sets and will face a qualifier – Mananchaya Sawangkaew – in round three.

Sabalenka stands firm in brilliant tie-break

This is Sabalenka's second victory in as many meetings with Kessler, though both of those matchups have been tough – she also required a tie-break to win their first clash at Indian Wells last year.

She had to produce some clutch play to overcome a determined Kessler and will be relieved to progress without needing a deciding set, as a potential blockbuster fourth-round clash against in-form Naomi Osaka moves ever closer.

Sabalenka will want to tighten things up after mixing 32 winners with 24 unforced errors, but this victory continues an impressive streak that has seen her win 35 of her last 36 meetings with players ranked outside the world's top 50.

She has now won 22 consecutive second-round matches at grand slam tournaments, not suffering a defeat at this stage of a major since the 2020 US Open, where she lost to compatriot Victoria Azarenka.

While a straight-sets success looked unlikely for much of the second set, this was Sabalenka's 31st win without dropping a set in 2026, the most of any player on the WTA Tour.

And Sabalenka continues to hold a formidable record in tie-breaks. This was her 21st consecutive success in a breaker at major level, extending her own Open Era record.