Aryna Sabalenka continues dominant Indian Wells run with straight-sets win over Naomi Osaka

World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka eased past 16th seed Naomi Osaka 6-2 6-4 on Tuesday to reach the Indian Wells quarter-finals, extending her dominant run at the WTA 1000 tournament.

The two four-time Grand Slam champions were meeting for the first time since 2018, when Osaka beat Sabalenka at the US Open en route to her maiden major title.

But this time the Belarusian’s power proved too much for the former world No 1, who has shown flashes of her brilliance since returning a 14-month absence after giving birth to daughter Shai in July 2023.

“That’s crazy, for so many years we only played once. I’m pretty sure we are playing many more matches, she’s coming back playing great tennis,” Sabalenka said in her on-court interview. “I’m pretty happy for the result today, much better than last time.”

Osaka began confidently with a strong opening service game, but top seed Sabalenka soon found her rhythm and capitalised on a brief dip from the Japanese, breaking for 2-1 after two double faults.

The Belarusian tightened her grip with a barrage of powerful backhands to lead 5-2, then served out the set comfortably with an ace.

After a series of solid holds from both players early in the second, Sabalenka again used her firepower to take control, breaking again for a 4-2 lead that proved decisive as she closed out victory to continue her run in the tournament without dropping a set.

“I’m happy that I put so much pressure on her today, that I brought variety to the court,” Sabalenka added. “My serve worked well. On the return I played really great tennis. Happy with my performance for sure.”

Last year’s runner-up Sabalenka will continue her quest for a first title in the California desert against either Canada’s Victoria Mboko or American Amanda Anisimova in the last eight.

Reuters