Aryna Sabalenka shuts down Lucia Bronzetti in style, powers through to Indian Wells 4th Round

Aryna Sabalenka claimed a straightforward victory at Indian Wells, defeating Lucia Bronzetti 6-1, 6-2 in just 1 hour and 15 minutes. The World No. 1 produced her most convincing performance since the Australian Open and gave no chances to the Italian.

The Belarusian notched up her 110th WTA 1000 tournament victory, and after a disappointing Middle East swing, she is back to winning consecutive matches in a WTA 1000 event. She also matched her performance in Indian Wells last year, where she was defeated by Emma Navarro in 2024.

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First Set

It wasn’t an easy task for Bronzetti, who had no previous wins against a top-10 player. The Italian managed to defend her first service game, but that was the only time she kept up with the World No. 1. After the 1-1 tie, Sabalenka held her serve comfortably and broke twice in a row, overwhelming her opponent with speed from the baseline.

The game was entirely controlled by Sabalenka, who delivered an excellent performance with few errors. She won 76% of points on her serve and 56% on returns. The Belarusian dropped only five points on her service games throughout the set, which lasted a mere 32 minutes, ending 6-1 in her favour.

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Second Set

In the second set, Bronzetti took advantage of some hesitation from Sabalenka. After holding her service game, the Italian pulled off an unexpected break, taking a 2-0 lead, which gave her a glimmer of hope. However, it was short-lived as Sabalenka quickly regained her focus and took control of the match.

The Italian showed some improvement on return, but her service game remained vulnerable to Sabalenka’s powerful forehand returns. The Belarusian held her serve and took three consecutive breaks, winning six games in a row to seal the win 6-1, 6-2 and secure her spot in the Round of 16.

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The three-time Grand Slam champion will face the biggest surprise of the fourth round: 23-year-old Brit Sonay Kortal, who came through qualifying and has reached this stage of a WTA 1000 for the first time in her career. On the way, she has already knocked out 16th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia and Russian Polina Kudermetova. With nothing to lose and a remarkable confidence boost, it will be interesting to see if the European can challenge the World No. 1.

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