Sabalenka holds off Raducanu in Indian Wells third round

No.2 seed Aryna Sabalenka clinched her spot in the BNP Paribas Open Round of 16 with a hard-fought 6-3, 7-5 win over fellow Grand Slam champion Emma Raducanu at the WTA 1000 event on Monday.

Sabalenka, last year's Indian Wells runner-up, took 95 minutes to move past 2021 US Open champion Raducanu in their first meeting. Sabalenka, who won her second straight Australian Open title earlier this year, improves her 2024 win-loss record to 13-2.

"I know that [Raducanu's] level is there, and she can play some great tennis," Sabalenka said after her win. "But on those key moments, I was focusing on myself and things that I have to do on court to be in this match, and I think it's worked well."

Fast facts: World No.2 Sabalenka fell just short at Indian Wells last year with a loss in the final to Elena Rybakina, but she is still a five-time titlist at WTA 1000-level throughout her career. Her most recent WTA 1000 title came last year on the clay of Madrid.

Sabalenka moved one step closer to a sixth WTA 1000 title by holding off Raducanu and improving to 6-0 against players from Great Britain. She also denied Raducanu her first Top 10 win; the Brit is now 0-6 against players ranked inside the Top 10 at the time of their meeting.

Moving through the draw: In the previous round, Sabalenka survived an engrossing tussle with Peyton Stearns, fending off four match points before edging the American in a third-set tiebreak.

"I did great recovery and had an extra day," Sabalenka said. "I'm feeling well, and yeah, I'm happy I was able to play great tennis today."

Sabalenka displayed no visible after-effects from that struggle, although she was challenged again on Monday. Sabalenka led 5-2 in the first set, but Raducanu saved a set point in a hold for 5-3, then garnered four break points in the following game, nearly getting back on serve.

However, aggressive play from Sabalenka steered the No.2 seed out of danger, and she wrapped up the one-set lead with big serving at key moments. Sabalenka had 19 winners to nine unforced errors in the first set.

Raducanu mounted a similar comeback in the second set, battling back from a break down to reach 5-5. Sabalenka broke once more to lead 6-5, finishing off that game with a deft drop shot, but she again stared down multiple break points when serving for the match.

Sabalenka, though, erased those opportunities one final time, then closed out the victory on her fourth match point after back-to-back forehand winners. All told, Sabalenka faced ten break points on the day, but successfully evaded nine of them.

"Of course I was super happy that I was able to close this match in two sets, and the last game was tight," Sabalenka said. "I felt like the last game was kind of like a key moment.

"If I would lose that game, this would give her emotionally like much more belief and confidence, and going to the tiebreak you never know. It's like 50/50. I didn't want that to happen. That's why I felt a little bit of relief after I closed this match in two sets."

Next up: Sabalenka will next face No.23 seed Emma Navarro. The rising American held off Elina Svitolina to win 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 to close out the day's play. It will be the first meeting between Sabalenka and Navarro.