Emma Navarro stuns Aryna Sabalenka to reach Indian Wells quarter-finals
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Navarro, ranked 23rd in the world, pushed second-seeded Australian Open champion Sabalenka hard to notch her first career win over a top-five player.
PHOTO: AFP
INDIAN WELLS, United States - American Emma Navarro shocked second-seeded Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 on March 13 to reach the quarter-finals of the WTA and ATP Indian Wells Masters.
Navarro, ranked 23rd in the world, pushed Sabalenka hard on a breezy Stadium Court to notch her first career win over a top-five player.
The victory continues a strong season for 22-year-old Navarro, the 2021 US collegiate champion who won the WTA title in Hobart and reached the semi-finals in Auckland and San Diego.
Sabalenka, meanwhile, has found it frustrating going since her successful title defence at 2024’s first Grand Slam.
The Belarusian’s fourth-round exit follows her opening-match defeat in Dubai in February.
Navarro will face either ninth-ranked Maria Sakkari of Greece or unseeded Diane Parry of France for a place in the semi-finals. AFP
