Aryna Sabalenka will play Naomi Osaka for the first time in eight years at Indian Wells.
Sabalenka is the favorite for the Indian Wells title, as she hopes to improve on her two previous runner-up finishes.
The world number one has made a positive start in her bid for the title, with Sabalenka winning her third round match against Jaqueline Cristian 6-4, 6-1.
After Osaka won her match against Camila Osorio, it confirmed that she would play Sabalenka for the first time since the 2018 US Open in a highly anticipated matchup.
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When Sabalenka was in her post-match press conference, it was still not confirmed that she would play Osaka, but she was still asked about the potential matchup.
In her response, Sabalenka praised Osaka for how she has come back to tennis since giving birth to her daughter, Shai, in July 2023.
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“Well, it would be for sure a fashion show at the beginning,” said Sabalenka. “Then a crazy match. She’s a great player.
“Came back after pregnancy. Incredible shape. I have been watching her matches, really admire her. We played how many — I think we played only once, isn’t it?
Sabalenka added, “Oh, probably I’ll have a chance to get a revenge, hopefully. I would like to play her.”
Their only previous match saw Osaka beat Sabalenka 6-3, 2-6, 6-4, at the 2018 US Open.
This was the year that Osaka won the US Open, which was her first of what is now four Grand Slam titles.
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Osaka beat Serena Williams and Madison Keys in her run to the 2018 US Open title, but she has now revealed that this was her hardest match of the tournament.
Sabalenka was the world number 20 at the time of this match, but Osaka has stated that she believed they would both go on to achieve big things in tennis.
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“No, I do remember it just because I felt like in that tournament, that was the hardest match for me, and I remember thinking, like, we’re both going to get very far,” Osaka said in her post-match press conference after beating Osorio.
“So, yeah, obviously I was right. But yeah, no, it was definitely a really difficult match. It’s really cool to see how far we both have come.”
Osaka and Sabalenka will reignite their head-to-head when they play for the first time in over seven years on Tuesday, March 10 at Indian Wells.
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