Indian Wells: Aryna Sabalenka beats Naomi Osaka 6-2 6-4 to advance to quarterfinals
World number one Sabalenka defeated Naomi Osaka 6-2 6-4 in Indian Wells and easily advanced to the quarterfinals.
The two four-time Grand Slam champions met for the first time since 2018, when Osaka defeated Sabalenka to win the U.S. Open.
But this time, the 27-year-old Sabalenka was too strong for the 16th seed and she ended the match in 80 minutes.
“It’s crazy, we’ve only played once in so many years and I’m pretty sure we’re going to play more and she’s going to play great tennis when she comes back,” Sabalenka said.
“I’m really happy with the result – much better than last time.”
Osaka, who had not played for 14 months before and after the birth of her daughter Shay in July 2023, started the match with a confident opening serve.
However, Sabalenka quickly found her rhythm and broke the 28-year-old Japanese player’s serve to lead 2-1.
The Belarusian strengthened her control with a series of powerful backhands to take a 5-2 lead, then easily won the set with an ace.
In the second set, Naomi Osaka and Sabalenka both held serve, and then Sabalenka led 4-2 with a decisive break before serving out.
“I’m glad I put a lot of pressure on her today and brought variety to the court,” Sabalenka added.
“I served well. I played some really good tennis on the return. I’m definitely happy with my performance.”
Sabalenka, last year’s runner-up, will face Canada’s Victoria M’boko or American Amanda Anisimova in the quarterfinals.
