Sabalenka fights back to beat Osaka at Madrid Open

World number one Aryna Sabalenka came from a set and a break down to beat Japan's Naomi Osaka in the fourth round of the Miami Open and progress to the quarter-finals.

Four-time Grand Slam champion Sabalenka secured her 15th consecutive victory of the year - and ninth in a row in Madrid - by winning 6-7 (1-7) 6-3 6-2 in two hours and 20 minutes.

The 27-year-old had not lost a match in the Spanish capital since 2023 but she was tested early on by fellow four-time major winner Osaka, who was playing some of her strongest tennis of the season.

Also in the last 16 on Monday, American third seed Coco Gauff suffered a 4-6 6-1 6-7 (5-6) defeat by Czech Linda Noskova.

Gauff, who was lost to Sabalenka in the Madrid final last year, was 4-1 up in the final set and 4-2 ahead in the deciding tie-break before Noskova, seeded 13th, battled back twice to claim her spot in the last eight.

American Gauff, who has been unwell with a stomach virus, will drop from third to fourth when the updated world rankings are released, with Poland's Iga Swiatek replacing her.

The reigning French Open champion was ruthless in the second set after losing the first and looked a safe bet to advance to the next round at the expense of Noskova, after breaking the 21-year-old for a second time in the third set.

But world number 13 Noskova produced an impressive comeback in front of the Spanish crowd as Gauff faltered and, following her 7-5 tie-break success, she will face either Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk or American Caty McNally in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.

"Sometimes I get lost on court, especially in the second [set], as it happened today," said Noskova. "I had to find my rhythm all over again in the third [set]."

Meanwhile, Sabalenka will take on American Hailey Baptiste, who defeated Belinda Bencic 6-1 6-7 (14-16) 6-3 in her fourth-round match, on Tuesday.

She defeated Baptiste, 24, in the quarter-finals of the Miami Open on her way to winning the title last month.

Speaking after the match, Sabalenka said Osaka, who did not play for 14 months around the birth of daughter Shai in July 2023, "played incredible tennis", adding that the third set went by so fast because she felt she had "got lucky" with some of her shots.

"I'm happy [Osaka] brought that fight, I had to fight through to level up my game," said Sabalenka, who beat Osaka in the fourth round at Indian Wells in March.

Osaka, 28, dominated the first-set tie-break and then broke Sabalenka's serve at the start of the second set to take a 2-1 lead. But the Belarusian stepped up a gear immediately with a 40-0 break to level the set 2-2.

After breaking Osaka again to go 5-3 up, Sabalenka, who has also won titles at Indian Wells and in Brisbane this year, served out to secure the second set and take the contest to a decider.

She conceded just three points in total in the fnal set and then wrapped up the match with her sixth ace of the afternoon.