California, March 11 -- World number one Aryna Sabalenka moved into the quarter-finals at Indian Wells with a 6-2 6-4 victory over Naomi Osaka.
The two four-time Grand Slam champions were meeting for the first time since 2018, when Osaka beat Sabalenka en route to winning the US Open. But on this occasion Sabalenka, 27, proved too strong for the 16th seed as she wrapped up the match within 80 minutes, according to BBC sport.
"It'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. "I'm pretty happy for theresult - much better than last time."Osaka, who did not play for 14 months around the birth of daughter Shai in July 2023, began the ma...