Aryna Sabalenka downs Linda Noskova to set up Indian Wells title rematch with Elena Rybakina

NEW DELHI: Aryna Sabalenka stormed past Linda Noskova on Friday to set up an Indian Wells title clash with Elena Rybakina. Sabalenka defeated the 14th-ranked Czech 6-3, 6-4, while Rybakina overcame Elina Svitolina 7-5, 6-4 to book a mouth-watering rematch of their Australian Open final.Rybakina had also beaten Sabalenka in the 2023 championship match at Indian Wells Masters — a tournament where the Belarusian star has previously fallen short in two finals.

However, Sabalenka has looked in dominant form in the California desert this year.She blasted 37 winners, including 11 aces, applying relentless baseline pressure in a commanding victory over Noskova. Sabalenka broke the big-serving Czech twice to surge to a 5-1 lead in the opening set.

There was a brief wobble as she attempted to serve out the set. Sabalenka, who had lost just one point across her first three service games, was broken.Noskova kept the set alive with a gritty hold in a marathon eighth game, saving a set point with a service winner before sealing the game with an ace.Serving for the set again, Sabalenka opened with a double fault and quickly fell behind 0-30. But two big serves and a backhand winner brought up another set point, which she converted with an ace.

Sabalenka broke Noskova at the start of the second set to seize control. Noskova managed to fend off another break, but she failed to convert a break opportunity in the eighth game. Sabalenka eventually closed out the match with a forehand winner on her third match point."I think I really played great tennis," Sabalenka said. "I was serving well. I was playing well. I like the way I put her under pressure on her serve."Rybakina, who is set to rise one place to world No. 2 on Monday, had too much firepower for ninth-seeded Svitolina, who had come into the match after a three-set win over two-time champion Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals.Rybakina recovered an early break in a tightly contested first set and took control with a break for 6-5, consistently pressuring Svitolina’s serve and forcing a string of errors.She then won seven consecutive games from 4-5 down in the first set, breaking Svitolina twice on the way to building a 4-0 lead in the second.The experienced Svitolina forced her to keep fighting, saving a match point on her own serve and another while breaking back to 5-3 as she strung together three straight games.But Rybakina made no mistake the second time she served for the match, sealing her 12th consecutive victory over top-10 opponents.Although she trails Sabalenka 8-7 in their career head-to-head, Rybakina has won their last two meetings — in the title match of the WTA Finals last year and at the Australian Open, where she claimed her second Grand Slam crown.