World number two Aryna Sabalenka booked her place in the Madrid Open fourth round with an entertaining 6-4, 7-5 win over wildcard Camila Osorio on Saturday.
Sabalenka, who beat Osorio comfortably at Wimbledon in 2021 in their only other meeting, struggled in the first set after breaking her opponent in the first game.
Colombia’s Osorio won 11 consecutive points to break back and turn a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 lead, as the Australian Open champion wobbled.
However, Sabalenka, who triumphed in Madrid in 2021, regained her composure and broke again to move ahead at 5-4, before holding her serve to take the first set.
The Belarusian carved out a 4-1 advantage in the second set with two breaks of serve, playing under a closed roof because of rain in the Spanish capital.
The big-hitting 24-year-old second seed was made to wait for her victory as Osorio needed a medical time-out to work on a thigh problem.
Osorio…
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