Indian Wells (United States) (AFP) – World number one Aryna Sabalenka powered into the Indian Wells quarter-finals on Tuesday, beating former champion Naomi Osaka 6-2, 6-4 in a battle of Grand Slam champions. It was another straightforward, straight-sets victory for Sabalenka, who fired 31 winners with eight aces.
“Overall I’m happy that I put so much pressure on her, that I brought variety today on the court,” said Sabalenka, who mixed her booming groundstrokes with effective forays to the net. “I think she was a little confused in the key moments, and I’m happy to see that,” Sabalenka said. “I’m happy that my serve worked well, on the return I played really great tennis.”
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Sabalenka wrapped up the first set with two breaks of serve before Osaka began to find her rhythm. But the Japanese star was unable to crack the serve of Sabalenka, who saved both break points she faced in the second set and grabbed a break for 4-3 with a pair of forehand winners. It was just the second meeting between the two, both four-time Grand Slam winners. Osaka won the first back in 2018 on the way to her first major title at the US Open.
“That’s actually crazy,” Sabalenka said of the fact they haven’t met more often. But she predicted there were more clashes in their future as Osaka, now ranked 16th, regains her momentum on the WTA Tour after taking off all of 2023 and having daughter, Shai, in July of that year.
Sabalenka, runner-up at Indian Wells in 2023 and 2025, will continue her pursuit of a first title in the prestigious ATP and WTA Masters 1000 event against either sixth-seeded American Amanda Anisimova or 10th-seeded Canadian teen Victoria Mboko. Mboko, 19, is among a quartet of rising talents in action later Tuesday, along with Alexandra Eala, Linda Noskova, and Talia Gibson.
Eala, the 20-year-old who has put Philippines tennis on the map, takes on 14th-seeded Czech Noskova under the lights on Stadium court. Aussie qualifier Gibson takes on seventh-seeded Italian Jasmine Paolini.
© 2024 AFP
