Aryna Sabalenka stayed the course towards her first title at the Indian Wells Masters on Tuesday as he world No. 1 earned her first career win over Naomi Osaka 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.
The fourth-round clash between the pair of four-time Grand Slam champions sent Osaka out after 81 minutes, with the Japanese player plagued by four double-faults and three breaks of her serve.
The formerly top-ranked Oaska defeated Sabalenka in their only previous meeting at the US Open in 2018.
“Someone like Naomi can always come back, aggressive player, very tough matches, very tough matches in the past,” Sabalenka said.
“It’s crazy to believe we’ve only played once!”
Sabalenka booked the fist of the last-eight spots in California and will await an opponent from Amanda Anisimova and Canadian Victoria Mboko.
