
Audio By Carbonatix
World number one Aryna Sabalenka came from a set and a break down to beat Japan's Naomi Osaka in the fourth round of the Miami Open and progress to the quarter-finals.
Four-time Grand Slam champion Sabalenka secured her 15th consecutive victory of the year - and ninth in a row in Madrid - by winning 6-7 (1-7) 6-3 6-2 in two hours and 20 minutes on Monday.
The 27-year-old had not lost a match in the Spanish capital since 2023 but she was tested early on by fellow four-time major winner Osaka, who was playing some of her strongest tennis of the season.
Defending champion Sabalenka will face American Hailey Baptiste, who defeated Belinda Bencic 6-1 6-7 (14-16) 6-3) in her fourth-round match to book a place in the last eight, on Tuesday.
Sabalenka defeated Baptiste, 24, in the quarter-finals of the Miami Open on her way to winning the title last month.
Speaking after the match, Sabalenka said Osaka, who did not play for 14 months around the birth of daughter Shai in July 2023, "played incredible tennis", adding that the third set went by so fast because she felt she had "got lucky" with some of her shots.
"I'm happy [Osaka] brought that fight, I had to fight through to level up my game," said Sabalenka, who beat Osaka in the fourth round at Indian Wells in March.
Osaka, 28, dominated the first-set tie-break and then broke Sabalenka's serve at the start of the second set to take a 2-1 lead. But the Belarusian stepped up a gear immediately with a 40-0 break to level the set 2-2.
After breaking Osaka again to go 5-3 up, Sabalenka, who has also won titles at Indian Wells and in Brisbane this year, served out to secure the second set and take the contest to a decider.
She conceded just three points in total in the fnal set and then wrapped up the match with her sixth ace of the afternoon.
Latest Stories
-
Man swims with horse through floodwaters as another rescues goat in Adabraka
4 minutes -
NPP National Council dismisses petition seeking to bar Afoko from chairmanship race
4 minutes -
CPP calls for emergency naval deployment as Accra floods worsen, urges urgent safety measures
17 minutes -
Church in Alajo flooded; residents trapped as water reaches neck level
19 minutes -
Caprice–Circle stretch submerged as flooding engulfs fuel stations, sparks safety fears in Accra
47 minutes -
Bawumia calls for swift emergency response to flood disaster
1 hour -
Bawumia sympathises with flood victims, calls for public cooperation with authorities
1 hour -
High Court sets July 20 for judgment in Wontumi mining trial
1 hour -
Ejura-Sekyedumase assembly supports more than 130 persons with disabilities with business, education and medical assistance
1 hour -
One electrocuted as floods overwhelm Accra after several hours of heavy rains
1 hour -
Heavy rain disrupts market day trading activity in Ho
2 hours -
Rains to persist, spread to southwestern Ghana – Meteo Agency warns
2 hours -
Bahas Mental inmates appeal for medications amid rising substance abuse cases in Upper West
2 hours -
Free Primary Healthcare biggest health financing reform since NHIS, says Dr Bampoe
2 hours -
Flood turns disaster into ‘shopping spree’ as residents scramble for warehouse goods washed into gutters
2 hours