INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- World No.2 Aryna Sabalenka saved four match points to defeat No.64 Peyton Stearns in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open, defeating the American 6-7(2), 6-2, 7-6(6). The 2-hour and 53-minute victory is Sabalenka's first since winning the Australian Open title in January. 

Sabalenka cited it as one of the craziest matches of her career. 

"I'm super happy that I didn't give up on that score, and I was really pushing myself hard, even though I didn't play my best tennis and she was crushing it like crazy," Sabalenka told reporters. "I was just like trying to stay in the game and keep fighting for every point.

"But this match will definitely go into the book of craziest matches and the best matches of my career."

A finalist in Indian Wells last year, Sabalenka will face 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu in the third round. Raducanu advanced after four games of her second-round clash against Dayana Yastremska. The Ukrainian was trailing 4-0 when she was forced to retire due to illness, putting Raducanu through. 

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In their first career meeting, Stearns and Sabalenka saved the dramatics for the deciding set. The set rolled along with the server before Stearns took advantage of a poor outing by Sabalenka to break for a 5-4 lead. Serving for the win, Stearns built a 40-0 lead before Sabalenka struck a clean backhand winner to stay in the match. Two more match points came and went with tight errors from the American, who had come within a point of notching her first Top 10 victory. Sabalenka saved a total of four match points to break Stearns to 5-5. 

"The first match point somehow I returned the crazy serve, put it back, she didn't expect that," Sabalenka said. "I made a great backhand crosscourt.

"Then the second one, I kind of start feeling she's getting tight, and probably this is good opportunity for me to stay in the match."

Stearns responded by breaking Sabalenka in the longest game of the match, a six-deuce tug-o-war that Stearns won after finally converting on her fifth break point. But again, she failed to serve out the win, and the match headed to a deciding tiebreak.

Having dodged every attempt by Stearns to land the knockout blow, Sabalenka earned the mini-break at 4-2 and had three match points of her own before Stearns leveled the tiebreak to 6-6. Sabalenka closed out the comeback two points later, as Stearns put a backhand long and the Australian Open champion roared her relief. 

Sabalenka finished the match with 40 winners to 49 unforced errors, including 10 aces and nine double faults. Stearns struck 29 winners to 34 unforced errors. 

Raducanu, a wild card entrant, was leading 4-0 in the first set when 2024 Australian Open semifinalist Yastremska stopped the match after 21 minutes. Their lone previous meeting, at 2022 Portoroz, also ended with a Yastremska retirement.

Raducanu is into the Indian Wells third round for the third straight year. Her career-best performance at the BNP Paribas Open came last year, when she reached the Round of 16 before falling to World No.1 Iga Swiatek.