‎World number one Aryna Sabalenka has eased 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.
‎However, on this occasion Sabalenka, 27, proved too strong for the 16th seed as she wrapped up the match within 80 minutes.
‎Osaka, who did not play for 14 months around the birth of daughter Shai in July 2023, began the match with a confident opening service game.
‎However, Sabalenka soon found her rhythm and broke the 28-year-old Japanese’s serve to take a 2-1 lead.
‎Osaka and Sabalenka both held serve early in the second set before the latter seized control at 4-2 with a decisive break before she served out for the match.
‎Sabalenka, who finished runner-up last year, will face Canada’s Victoria Mboko or Amanda Anisimova of the United States in the last eight.
Edited by Favour Owonibi.