Sawt Falasteen - Osaka tops Osorio to set Indian Wells Sabalenka clash

Japan's Osaka, seeded 16th, pounced for a 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 victory over Camila Osorio to avenge a demoralizing first-round loss to the Colombian here last year.

Sabalenka is chasing a first title in the prestigious ATP and WTA Masters 1000 event after twice coming up empty in the final.

Osaka won her first title in Indian Wells in 2018, going on to win the US Open that year in a run that included a victory over Sabalenka.

That's the only meeting to date between the two -- who are now both four-time Grand Slam champions.

"I'll have a chance to get a revenge, hopefully," said Sabalenka after she belted 23 winners in an impressive display against 35th-ranked Cristian.

There were a few blips, notably a double fault on break point as the Belarusian served for the opening set. Sabalenka responded by breaking Cristian to pocket the set and was satisfied with an overpowering performance.

"I knew that she was not going to give up easily," she said. "That's why I was super-focused, especially on my serve. I didn't want to give her much opportunity so super-happy with the serving, with the game and of course with the win."

Osaka, playing her first tournament since withdrawing before her Australian Open third-round match with an abdominal injury, roared through the opening set, breaking Osorio's serve three times.

The Colombian finally began to find her service rhythm in the second set and with new confidence stepped up the pressure on Osaka in the rallies.

She broke Osaka for a 4-2 lead and fended off a break point in the ninth game to take the set.

That proved the end of her resurgence. Osaka broke on the way to a 3-0 lead in the third as she brought it home without facing another break point.

"I can only say that I tried to be more positive," Osaka said of the shift in gears. "I feel like the second set I was complaining a lot and then I just kind of thought my daughter could be watching me mope around the court.

"So I needed to pick up my attitude and that's kind of what I did in the third."

Fourth-seeded Coco Gauff headlines the night session, taking on rising Philippines star Alexandra Eala -- who gets a quick chance for revenge after falling 6-0, 6-2 to the American in the Dubai quarter-finals last month.

"I'm excited," Eala said. "It was a tough match for me last time. I think she played really well. So all I can do is take the learnings that I have from our last match and try to implement that in our next one."

Gauff, coming off an "awkward" 6-3, 7-6 (7/5) win over qualifier Kamilla Rakhimova, can expect plenty of crowd support. But so can Eala, who is drawing her usual contingent of loyal Filipino fans in the California desert.

B.Khalifa--SF-PST