It is not surprising, but as Aryna Sabalenka beat Naomi Osaka in a thrilling encounter, she was guaranteed to keep hold of the world No. 1 rank while booking her place in the French Open quarter-final for the first time. It is Sabalenka’s first-ever visit to the French Open, and she has looked good on the clay courts here in Paris.
Osaka gave the world number 1 a real tough test in the evening match at Roland Garros, but Sabalenka proved she was the better player throughout the four-set match that eventually concluded with a scoreline of 7-5, 6-3 to the Belarusian.
Osaka had given herself a great start by becoming a second-week competitor at this Grand Slam for the very first time, but from then on in Osaka took control and was dictating play by the end of the first set as she found her rhythm.
It took her a little time, but she did well to keep her wits about her throughout the match, with her accurate serving, excellent baseline play and cunning drop-shots helping her towards success.
This performance shows she has proved she belongs at the very top with her range of play and constant high level. The win marks her 14th consecutive match where she has won it by reaching the final, and now she goes on to another Slam final once more.
Even though this will be frustrating for Osaka, the four-time Grand Slam winner will come out of this match having taken so many positive steps on clay after this event and will take this into the rest of the season and be pleased that she’s still progressing as a player.
Her opponent next will be the 25th seed Diana Shnaider.
