By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Monday, March 11, 2024
Fending off frustration and a feisty Emma Raducanu, Aryna Sabalenka scored a 6-3, 7-5 win to reach the Indian Wells round of 16 for the third time.
Photo credit: Robert Prange/Getty
Juggling helps Aryna Sabalenka cool down after practice.
Today, Sabalenka showed sharp multi-tasking skills to pass a tough test.
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Fending off frustration and a feisty Emma Raducanu, Sabalenka scored a 6-3, 7-5 win to reach the Indian Wells round of 16 for the third time.
One round after Sabalenka saved four match points in a gripping 6-7(2), 6-2, 7-6(6) triumph over American Peyton Stearns, Raducanu put the 2023 finalist to the test nearly forcing a second-set tiebreaker.
In the end, Sabalenka showed stinging groundstrokes, strong self belief and some self-restraint after being hit with an audible obscenity warning for some apparently colorful language to improve to 13-2 on the season.
In the first meeting between Grand Slam champions, Sabalenka saved nine of 10 break points, including fending off four break points to serve out the opening set before fighting off three break points in the final game to finish a hard-fought 95-minute win.
"I'm happy that I'm able to focus on myself during these tough moments," Sabalenka told the media in Indian Wells. "Yeah, she's an incredible player and she played great tennis today, even though she didn't play much matches in the past couple of months.
"But still, I know that the level is there, and she can play some great tennis. But on those key moments, I was focusing on myself and things what I have to do on court to be in this match, and I think it's worked well."
Playing for her first career Top-10 win, Raducanu hit some sharp running counter strikes and extended points as the match progressed, but the weight and depth of Sabalenka’s drives gave the Briton little time to operate.
Wild card Raducanu, who is 29-32 since her rousing run to the 2021US Open title as a qualifier, earned more break points and defended her second serve better than the second seed, but Sabalenka’s jolting power helped her issue the final word.
"She fought till the end. She didn't give up in the last game," Sabalenka said. "She was trying her best and during the match she was fighting for it.
"Of course I was super happy that I was able to close this match in two sets, and the last game was tight. You know, like, I felt like the last game was kind of like 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."
US Open finalist Sabalenka started with a bang blistering an ace and banging a smash for the opening hold.
Moving fluidly, Raducanu answered with a strong hold at 15.
Playing just her fifth tournament since undergoing ankle surgery and surgeries to both wrists last May, the Briton stayed in step through four games.
Then Sabalenka accelerated.
Pounding a bounce smash and spinning a sharp-angled forehand brought the Belarusian break point. When Raducanu netted a running backhand, Sabalenka snared the break for 4-2.
Reigning winners from all areas of the court, Sabalenka stamped her second straight love service hold stretching her lead to 5-2 after 25 minutes.
A stubborn Raducanu saved a couple of set points, including sliding a second serve ace wide, to hold in the eighth game.
The second seed stepped up to serve for the set. Raducanu responded with her best returns of the day. The Briton blasted a forehand return down the line for triple break point.
Sabalenka saved all three break points then erased a fourth break point. Ripping a 118 mph ace down the T gave Sabalenka a third set point. This time she closed with a kick second serve for a one-set lead after 38 minutes.
Fifty-five minutes into the match, Raducanu was backed up by a series of sharp Sabalenka returns to face triple break point.
Waiting on the wide serve, Sabalenka scalded a forehand return crosscourt breaking at 15 for 3-2.
A scrambling Raducanu spun a forehand pass for break points and broke right back for 3-all on a Sabalenka miscue.
Frustrated by that sloppy service game, Sabalenka expressed herself—and was hit with a code violation audible obscenity warning for it. Raducanu held firm for 4-3.
Afterward, Sabalenka recalled that incident with good humor.
"I just told [the chair umpire], like, Come on, you could just avoid that warning. It wasn't that bad," Sabalenka said. "Yes, there was, like, one specific word, but it wasn't, like, I didn't forward it to her.
"I was just, like you're pissed and you're just, F**k this s**t. I was just, like, Come on. You could have, like, ignored that. (Laughter.)
"Did I really say that, F**k this s**t? I did it again. Well, f**k this s**t."
The wild card earned a break point in the eighth game, but was crowding the baseline and handcuffed by Sabalenka’s heavy kick serve.
Deadlocked after 10 games, Raducanu was running down ballistic drives hanging tough. The Briton netted her fourth double fault to face a break point.
Amping up her strikes and shouts, Sabalenka unleashed a series of crackling forehand sending Raducanu side-to-side. In the midst of that power storm, Sabalenka cleverly pulled the string on a clean forehand drop shot winner breaking with the softest shot of the game for 6-5.
Serving for the match, Sabalenka slashed a 109 mph ace down the T to save a second break point. Sabalenka earned a match point, but double faulted with an aggressive second serve.
Staring down a 10th break point, Sabalenka hammered a backhand to evoke an error. Credit Raducanu for repelling a second match point with a fine running forehand winner.
Launching a 121 mph rocket ace down the T brought Sabalenka a third match point. The Belarusian brain-cramped believing a Raducanu running forehand would stray.
The ball landed on the line as Raducanu erased match point No. 3.
Shaking it off, Sabalenka spun a diagonal forehand winner for a fourth match point. This time, Sabalanka danced around her backhand and drilled a forehand winner ending a near nine-minute hold to seal a 6-3, 7-5 triumph.
Sabalenka will face either 16th-seeded Wimbledon semifinalist Elina Svitolina or 23rd-seeded American Emma Navarro for a quarterfinal spot.
Earlier, US Open champion Coco Gauff held off Italian Lucia Bronzetti 6-2, 7-6(5).
On a day in which Gauff’s best brand of tennis eluded her for much of the match, her fierce competitiveness carried her into the round of 16.
Gauff saved 10 of 11 break points raising her record to 14-3 on the season.
“Today was tight, but, you know, the first set was pretty straightforward,” Gauff told the media in Indian Wells. “The second, you know, I was up a break. So, I don't know, I'm not really looking at it being tight.
“I played two tough opponents. You know, she played well today. I think she, you know, has a tough game to play. She hits the ball, like, really flat and low and doesn't give you a lot of speed to generate so you have to do all the generating yourself, which is something you're not used to a lot in the women's game because a lot of the players are power players. So it was something to adjust to today.”
The third-seeded Gauff will celebrate her 20th birthday on Wednesday when she will meet either four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka or 24th-seeded Belgian Elise Mertens for a quarterfinal spot.
“Elise, she's definitely a tough player. I think almost every time I play her is a tough match,” said Gauff, who is 3-0 lifetime vs. Mertens. “I don't recall any straightforward wins playing against her. Even though the record is 3-0, it could easily have been the opposite. She's tough. She has good strokes and she can hit the ball clean, she can serve well, she makes you earn the match.
“Obviously Naomi is one of the champions of our sport and probably one of the best hard court players to play. I'm pretty sure the only times I've ever played Naomi is actually on hard court. And yeah, I think the only times I ever played her is on hard.
“If I were to play her again it would be a fresh start for both of us, because for her, she's coming back and she's approaching the game with a fresh mentality. Then for me, it's different when you play somebody, I feel like last time I played her was a while ago, maybe over a year ago. So yeah, I think it's just going to be a tough match either way and hopefully I can bring the best game I can to approach those players, because it's going to be tough.”
Auckland champion Gauff played her boldest tennis amid break-point pressure today.
Gauff thumped a bounce smash to fend off a fourth break point in the fifth game. By then, Gauff had saved all eight break points she faced.
Opening the court with a crosscourt forehand, Gauff threw down another smash to save a fifth break point of the game. Standing firm, Gauff held for 3-2 after 34 minutes of tension.
Denying all nine break points she faced to that point, Gauff turned the tables.
The third seed smacked a backhand down the line for triple break point. Gauff broke at love on a Bronzetti forehand error for 4-2.
Gauff rolled through 10 of 11 points stretching her lead to 5-2.
Running side-to-side on defense, Gauff anticipated the crosscourt shot and hammered a running backhand down the line for a fourth set point. When Bronzetti’s backhand found the net, Gauff snatched the 52-minute opening set.