Aryna Sabalenka cruises into Indian Wells quarter-finals

Aryna Sabalenka cruised into the quarter-finals at Indian Wells with a commanding straight-sets win over Sonay Kartal on Wednesday (March 12). The world number one took just 72 minutes to secure her place in the final eight, winning 6-1 6-2.

Sabalenka made the worst possible start by losing her serve in the opening game, but she did not look back after that, winning the next six games in a row. She faced a break point in the final game of the first set but held onto her serve to take the lead.

Sabalenka did not look back, and Kartal could not put the Belarusian on the back foot, failing to produce another break attempt, with her opponent proving too strong. She will face either Jasmine Paolini or Liudmila Samsonova in the quarter-finals.

Elsewhere, Australian Open champion Madison Keys fought back from the brink to secure her place in the last eight, beating Donna Vekic in three sets.

Keys, who beat Sabalenka to the title in Melbourne, triumphed 4-6 7-6 (9-7) 6-3 on Wednesday. After losing the first set, the American successfully defended against a set point when 5-4 down in the second to level the score before finally finding her edge in the tie-break.

Her fight won out, and after going a break up in the first game of the decider, she did not look back, sealing the win after converting match point at the second time of asking.

She has now won 15 consecutive matches and became the first player to win each of her first 10 three-set matches in a WTA season since Serena Williams in 2015 – including retirements.

Data Debrief: Sabalenka back on track

Having struggled since her Australian Open final defeat, Sabalenka looks to be regaining her rhythm as she powers through Indian Wells.

She went to a tie-break in her first set at the tournament, but in the two matches since, she has dropped just six games.

She Sabalenka showed her strength on serve, winning 74% of her first-serve points (23/31). She also converted five of eight break points (63%).

Her progress means that both the world number one (Sabalenka) and two (Iga Swiatek) will feature in the last eight in Indian Wells for the fifth time in the 2000s.