INDIAN WELLS — A significant portion of a World No. 1’s responsibilities involve beating the players they’re supposed to beat, particularly the upper-middle class ranked between Nos. 20-50.
On a gorgeous Sunday in the desert, Aryna Sabalenka took care of her business once again, defeating No. 35-ranked Jaqueline Cristian 6-4, 6-1. It was over in a breezy 71 minutes and marked the 23rd time in a row that Sabalenka has beaten a player ranked outside the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz Top 20.
“There were so many things that really helped me to win this match,” Sabalenka said in her on-court interview. “I knew that she was not going to give up easily and would work me hard. I think that’s why I was super focused, especially on my serve — I didn’t give her many chances.”
The victory sets up the savory possibility of a Tuesday meeting between Sabalenka and fellow four-time Grand Slam singles champion Naomi Osaka. First, Osaka must get past Camila Osorio in their later Round of 16 match.
If it feels like a fresh matchup, that’s because it is. Surprisingly, they’ve met only once, eight years ago at the US Open in the fourth round. Osaka, seeded No. 20, defeated No. 26 Sabalenka in three sets. They were both only 20 years old at the time.
Sabalenka, who did not play the two WTA 1000s in the Middle East, has looked exceedingly relaxed in her two straight-sets matches after five weeks off. Her only loss in 14 matches this year came to Elena Rybakina in the Australian Open final.
This was the first career meeting between Sabalenka and Cristian and the top seed came out firing. She won 16 of 17 points in her first four service games — the only miss being a double fault. But serving for the set at 5-3, nerves seemed to enter the equation. Two double faults ultimately cost her the game.
With Cristian trying to get to 5-all, Sabalenka forged a set point with a thunderous overhead that brought out her loudest roar of the match and an emphatic fist pump. Cristian promptly double faulted to give Sabalenka the first set.
In the first game of the second set, Cristian cracked back with her own break point, but Sabalenka countered with 1) a terrific pass after retrieving a drop shot, 2) an ace and 3) a pristine forehand winner.
Cristian, supported by a marvelous band of enthusiastic Romanian fans wearing predominantly yellow, challenged Sabalenka’s serve in the fifth game of the second set but couldn’t convert any of three break points. For the match, Sabalenka saved five of the six break points against her.
The win sent Sabalenka past Maria Sharapova for the seventh most WTA 1000 match-wins (137) since the format’s introduction in 2009. Only Victoria Azarenka (209) has more among active players.