World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka ended the run of lucky loser Sonay Kartal on Wednesday at the BNP Paribas Open, rolling into the quarterfinals with a 6-1, 6-2 victory.

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Sabalenka only previously reached the quarterfinals in Indian Wells in 2023, when she went all the way to the final. Against Kartal, who had defeated No. 16 Beatriz Haddd Maia earlier in the tournament, Sabalenka lost serve just once in 1 hour and 12 minutes. She broke serve five times to set a quarterfinal match against No. 24 seed Liudmila Samsonova, who toppled No. 6 seed Jasmine Paolini on Wednesday night, 6-0, 6-4.

Broken by the World No. 83 in the first game of the match, Sabalenka never trailed again. She won eight straight games to take a lead she’d never relinquish, and in all, only lost six points on serve in set two.

“After the first game, I felt like things wasn't going my way, Sabalenka confessed post-match. “I'm really happy that I could recharge and start everything over again and close this match in straight sets.”

Read more on the top seed's dominating triumph below.

Sabalenka's streak against surprises continues: Sabalenka has won her last 16 meetings against qualifiers and/or lucky losers. The last time she lost versus such an opponent was in San Diego three years ago, when she was beaten by Donna Vekic, then a qualifier. 

Sabalenka's 16-0 record against such players in the last three years is tops on the Hologic WTA Tour.

World No. 1 reaches first WTA 1000 QF of season: Sabalenka's struggles in the Middle East were well documented, with earlier than expected exits at the first WTA 1000 events of the season. But in the third such tournament of the year, the top seed coasted into her 25th career quarterfinal at this level.

A tough test awaits in the last eight: Sabalenka is 2-2 all-time against Samsonova, one of the handful of players on tour who can match the World No. 1 in power off the ground. Samsonova and Sabalenka have played two three-setters in their history, and another match that featured two tiebreaks.

The three-time Grand Slam champion is seeking to better her all-time best result at WTA 1000 level as the World No. 1, as she also reached the quarterfinals of the China Open in 2023 when she was at the top of the rankings. She also is hoping that a victory over Samsonova foretells things to come, as she has won the title in each of the previous two tournaments she defeated Samsonova (Adelaide 2023 and Cincinnati 2024).