Sabalenka powers past Osaka to reach Indian Wells quarter-finals

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the quarter-finals at Indian Wells with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over 16th seed Naomi Osaka on Tuesday, maintaining her perfect record at the WTA 1000 tournament without dropping a set.

The two four-time Grand Slam champions were meeting for the first time since 2018, when Osaka defeated Sabalenka at the US Open en route to her maiden major title. On this occasion, the Belarusian's power proved decisive, with the match concluded in 80 minutes.

Osaka began confidently with a strong opening service game, but Sabalenka soon found her rhythm. The world No. 1 broke Osaka's serve to take a 2-1 lead after the Japanese player committed two double faults. Sabalenka then tightened her grip on the first set with a barrage of powerful backhands, extending her lead to 5-2 before serving out the set comfortably with an ace.

In the second set, Osaka appeared briefly competitive, but Sabalenka quickly responded to charge ahead and close out the match. The 27-year-old Belarusian's dominant baseline game proved too much for the 28-year-old Osaka, who returned to professional tennis after not playing for 14 months around the birth of her daughter Shai in July 2023.

In her on-court interview, Sabalenka reflected on the rarity of their matchups. "Yeah, 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," she said. "I'm pretty happy for the result today, much better than last time."