Sabalenka and Sinner advance to semifinals at BNP Paribas Open
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Aryna Sabalenka overcame Victoria Mboko with a score of 7-6 (0), 6-4 in the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Open on Thursday, keeping the top-ranked player in women’s tennis in contention for her first title at Indian Wells.
After winning every point in the first-set tiebreak, Sabalenka secured the single break she required to clinch the second set and advance to the semifinals against 14th seed Linda Noskova from Czechia, who triumphed over unseeded Australian Talia Gibson with a score of 6-2, 4-6, 6-2.
In the men’s draw, second-seeded Jannik Sinner from Italy defeated 25th-seeded American Learner Tien 6-1, 6-2, concluding the run of the youngest American to reach a quarterfinal at Indian Wells at the age of 20, a feat last achieved by his coach, Michael Chang, when he won the tournament in 1992.
Sinner, who recorded 10 aces and only one double fault, will face German Alexander Zverev in his semifinal match on Saturday, following Zverev’s victory over France’s Arthur Fils with a score of 6-2, 6-3.
Sabalenka has not dropped a set in the tournament but faced challenges from the 10th-seeded Mboko, a 19-year-old Canadian who claimed the 2025 Canadian Open.
Sabalenka successfully placed 94% of her first serves in play and was not broken, although she did fend off five break points.
“I was focused on my game plan. I was just playing point by point,” Sabalenka stated. “I’m pretty happy with the way I’m serving so far.”
Source: espn.com
