2020 WTA Indian Wells fantasy tennis: Sabalenka joins Grand Slam winners in semi-finals
A TRIO of Grand Slam winners are through to the WTA Tour’s Indian Wells semi-finals after winning their respective quarter finals. World number one Ash Barty, seventh seed Serena Williams and 14th seed Garbine Muguruza remain in the hunt for the title, joining ninth seed up-and-comer Aryna Sabalenka as the final four players left in the tournament.
Williams had the toughest encounter of the final eight, having to come back from a set down against red-hot Belgian, Elise Mertens. Dropping the first set 6-4, Williams managed to turn it around with a couple of crucial breaks over the next two sets to reverse the scoreline and win in two hours and one minute. She hit 45 winners across the course of the match, but also had 40 unforced errors, while Mertens was cleaner with 25 and 20 respectively. It was the power of the American that pulled through however, booking a spot in the semis against the ninth seed Belarusian.
Sabalenka had an easier time against fellow up-and-comer, Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina. The 20-year-old Kazakh had been in good form this year making a number of finals and winning a title, but she was no match for the unbelievable Sabalenka who put on a show. The match last around 52 minutes as Sabalenka broke four times to zero and ran out a 6-2 6-2 winner to race into the final four. It was a similar result for the world number one in Barty who downed 21st seed Donna Vekic, 6-1 6-1. That match lasted just 48 minutes as Barty cruised into the final four with a massive win over the Croatian.
In the final match of the day, Muguruza toppled 18th seed Greek talent, Maria Sakkari in a tight straight sets triumph. The Spaniard won the first set in a 90-minute tiebreak-deciding set, before having it slightly easier, though still taking an hour to win the second. In the end, Muguruza got up 7-6 6-4 to move through to the semi-finals where she takes on Barty tomorrow. The semi-finals will take place with the Williams-Sabalenka semi up first, followed by the Barty-Muguruza semi straight afterwards.
QUARTER FINALS RESULTS:
[1] Ash Barty (AUS) defeated [21] Donna Vekic (CRO) 6-1 6-1
[7] Serena Williams (USA) defeated [20] Elise Mertens (BEL) 4-6 6-4 6-4
[9] Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) defeated [15] Elena Rybakina (KAZ) 6-2 6-2
[14] Garbine Muguruza (ESP) defeated [18] Maria Sakkari (GRE) 7-6 6-4
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