Wimbledon: Sabalenka sets up Osaka clash with win over Ostapenko

London, July 3 (IANS) World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka withstood a barrage of firecracker shots from the 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, winning the Centre Court clash involving two of the biggest hitters on the WTA tour in straight sets at Wimbledon on Friday.

With a comprehensive 6=4, 6-4 win in one hour and 33 minutes, Sabalenka surged into the fourth round, keeping alive her dream of winning a maiden title at the All-England Club in London.

Sabalenka, a three-time semifinalist at Wimbledon, had more versatility and nuance to her play in the ‘grip it and rip it’ exchanges, evading danger with a 6-4, 6-4 triumph to book a blockbuster fourth-round encounter with former world No.1 Naomi Osaka.

The No. 14 seed Osaka completed her career set of Grand Slam second-week showings in emphatic fashion on Friday, defeating Daria Kasatkina 6-1, 6-3 in just 65 minutes to reach the Wimbledon fourth round for the first time.

Osaka has now made the fourth round at least once at each major, and nine times in total: three times at the Australian Open (including two titles), once at Roland Garros, once at Wimbledon, and four times at the US Open (including two titles). She is the 31st currently active player to accomplish this feat.

Osaka was up against one of those players — former No. 8 Kasatkina, a Wimbledon quarterfinalist in 2018, completed her set by reaching the 2025 Australian Open fourth round. This was the first meeting on grass between the two 1997-born rivals, and it followed the pattern previously set on hard and clay courts: Osaka now leads the head-to-head 4-0, and 8-1 in sets.

Earlier, Sabalenka survived a spirited fightback from American McCartney Kessler to book her place in the third round, recovering from 5-2 down in the second set and saving four set points before sealing a hard-fought 6-1, 7-6(9) victory on Wednesday. Ostapenko, on the other hand, delivered one of the day’s strongest performances, defeating Croatia’s Antonia Ruzic 6-2, 6-0 in just 66 minutes.

The Latvian wiped away memories of her error-filled first-round win over Harriet Dart, in which she had 13 double faults. She hit an impressive 34 winners against just 10 unforced errors.

–IANS

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