Sabalenka fights back to beat Osaka at Madrid Open

Aryna Sabalenka is aiming to win her fourth Madrid Open title [Getty Images]

World number one Aryna Sabalenka came from a set and a break down to beat Japan's Naomi Osaka in the fourth round of the Miami Open and progress to the quarter-finals.

Four-time Grand Slam champion Sabalenka secured her 15th consecutive victory of the year - and ninth in a row in Madrid - by winning 6-7 (1-7) 6-3 6-2 in two hours and 20 minutes on Monday.

The 27-year-old had not lost a match in the Spanish capital since 2023 but she was tested early on by fellow four-time major winner Osaka, who was playing some of her strongest tennis of the season.

Defending champion Sabalenka will face American Hailey Baptiste, who defeated Belinda Bencic 6-1 6-7 (14-16) 6-3) in her fourth-round match to book a place in the last eight, on Tuesday.

Sabalenka defeated Baptiste, 24, in the quarter-finals of the Miami Open on her way to winning the title last month.

Speaking after the match, Sabalenka said Osaka, who did not play for 14 months around the birth of daughter Shai in July 2023, "played incredible tennis", adding that the third set went by so fast because she felt she had "got lucky" with some of her shots.

"I'm happy [Osaka] brought that fight, I had to fight through to level up my game," said Sabalenka, who beat Osaka in the fourth round at Indian Wells in March.

Osaka, 28, dominated the first-set tie-break and then broke Sabalenka's serve at the start of the second set to take a 2-1 lead. But the Belarusian stepped up a gear immediately with a 40-0 break to level the set 2-2.

After breaking Osaka again to go 5-3 up, Sabalenka, who has also won titles at Indian Wells and in Brisbane this year, served out to secure the second set and take the contest to a decider.

She conceded just three points in total in the fnal set and then wrapped up the match with her sixth ace of the afternoon.

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