Sabalenka sets up Indian Wells title rematch with Rybakina

INDIAN WELLS

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Aryna Sabalenka roared past Linda Noskova on Friday to book an Indian Wells title showdown with Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina.

Sabalenka beat 14th-ranked Czech Noskova 6-3, 6-4 and Rybakina downed Ukraine's Elina Svitolina 7-5, 6-4 to set up a mouthwatering rematch of their Melbourne final.

Rybakina also beat Sabalenka in the 2023 championship match in Indian Wells -- where the Belarusian star has come up empty in two prior trips to the final.

"I want that match," said Sabalenka, who has been in imperious form in the California desert this year. She fired 37 winners with 11 aces, applying relentless pressure from the baseline in a commanding win over Noskova.

She broke the big-serving Czech twice as she powered to a 5-1 lead in the opening set.

There was a hiccup as she tried to serve out the set, and Sabalenka, who had lost just one point in her first three service games, was broken.

Noskova kept the set alive with a battling hold in a marathon eighth game, fending off a set point with a service winner and sealing the game with an ace.

Serving for the set again, Sabalenka opened with a double fault and went down 0-30, but a pair of big serves and a backhand winner brought her to set point, and she claimed it with an ace.