World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is into the 2026 Madrid Open quarterfinals. The Belarusian defeated former top seed Naomi Osaka in a hard-fought battle and won by sets of 6-7 (1/7), 6-3, 6-2 on Monday, April 27. Meanwhile, third seed Coco Gauff lost to Linda Noskova in the tie-breaker of the three-set game.
The first set was challenging as the two were with only one breakpoint which was forced by Sabalenka but Osaka saved it to hold at 2-1. Meanwhile, Osaka went on to dominate in the tie-break by taking a 5-0 lead. But Sabalenka stepped up a gear. The world No. 15 then dug deep to survive three break points and managed to get a 2-1 lead. The Belarusian, however, immediately broke and served out in the second set.
Sabalenka is coming off a strong campaign winning titles at Miami, Indian Wells and Brisbane, all three won this year. Osaka, a Japanese tennis player, played a strong set in the fourth-round but the Belarusian emerged back from a set to win the game.
Speaking about Sabalenka on the win, “I was just trying to take one ball at a time and my team was there for me, they really (pushed) me to keep fighting, and I’m really happy that I didn’t give up and I was pushing until the very last point. When (she) put me under pressure, I was able to pull out really incredible shots and incredible tennis. So I’m happy.”
With the win, Sabalenka will next play against America’s Hailey Baptiste in the last eight. Baptiste defeated Belinda Bencic in three sets.
On the other hand, World No. 3 Gauff, who was struggling with a stomach bug lost her game to Noskova in sets of 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (7/5) defeat by Noskova. The Czech had secured a break in the first set, but Gauff secured two of her own to win the second. She then moved up by two breaks in the third but Noskova levelled the game at 4-4.
The American was leading the tie-break at 3-0 in the tie break but could hold on for much longer.
