Indian Wells, CA, USA : World number two Jannik Sinner survived a stern challenge from Joao Fonseca on Tuesday to reach the quarter-finals of the Indian Wells Open, while women’s top seed Aryna Sabalenka eased past Naomi Osaka 6-2 6-4 to advance to the last eight.
The Italian was pushed hard by the 19-year-old Brazilian, dropping the opening set before rallying to win 3-6 7-6(6) 7-6(4).
“Joao is an incredible talent. He was serving really well. I was trying to be as aggressive as possible and that was the key to get through against the incredible talent,” Sinner said.
Sinner will next face American Learner Tien on Friday for a place in the semi-finals.
“I feel he is a very consistent player and I am very happy to face him again. He has improved a lot since the last time we met,” Sinner said.
Sabalenka powers past Osaka
In the women’s draw, Sabalenka’s power proved too much for former world number one Osaka in their first meeting since the US Open in 2018, when the Japanese player beat the Belarusian on her way to her first Grand Slam title.
Osaka started confidently with a strong opening service game but Sabalenka soon found her rhythm, breaking for a 2-1 lead after two Osaka double faults.
The Belarusian tightened her grip with a barrage of powerful backhands to move 5-2 ahead and served out the set with an ace.
After a series of holds early in the second set, Sabalenka broke again to lead 4-2 and closed out the win, continuing her run in the tournament without dropping a set.
“I’m happy that I put so much pressure on her today, that I brought variety to the court,” Sabalenka said. “My serve worked well. On the return I played really great tennis. Happy with my performance for sure.”
Last year’s runner-up Sabalenka will next face Canada’s Victoria Mboko, who beat American Amanda Anisimova 6-4 6-1.
Elsewhere, Australian qualifier Talia Gibson secured the biggest win of her career, defeating Italy’s world number seven Jasmine Paolini 7-5 2-6 6-1.
The 21-year-old, playing her first WTA 1000 main draw, became the first qualifier in 11 years to reach the Indian Wells quarter-finals.
