World no. 2 Aryna Sabalenka keeps proving that her triumph in Melbourne was no coincidence as she has won another difficult match.
Since her Australian Open triumph, Sabalenka lost only to one player. Barbora Krejcikova stopped her in Dubai, before she stunned also world no. 1 Iga Swiatek in the final to lift the trophy. Three weeks later, the Belarusian had a chance to respond.
After fighting in three sets in Dubai, Sabalenka knew that also their fourth meeting on the WTA Tour will be a difficult one but she was ready to take on the challenge after entering the match rested following a previous withdrawal of her opponent.
The second-seed entered the match with more confidence and it showed early on. Sabalenka got the first break and after adding another one it was clear that she will not lose the first set.
Yet the Czech no. 2 fought back in an attempt to steal the smile from her opponent's face, but one break just wasn't enough to surprise Sabalenka who won the first set 6-3.
The second set was a much different story, though. Krejcikova didn't allow her opponent to do anything on her serve and she was precise when it mattered. The 16th-seed used both of her break points and quite comfortably leveled the score after winning the second set 6-2.
But Sabalenka didn't travel to Indian Wells just to be stopped by Krejcikova again. She showed it in the third set as she started with another early break and kept her advantage throughout the set again.
The Belarusian beat Krejcikova after winning the third set 6-4 and set up a quarterfinal meeting with the sixth-seeded Coco Gauff, who defeated Rebecca Peterson earlier on the day.
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