Sabalenka downs Zheng to reach Miami Open quarters

2026-03-23 - 23:10

Aryna Sabalenka is aiming to defend the Miami title she won for the first time last year. (EPA Images pic) MIAMI: World number one Aryna Sabalenka stayed on course for a rare “Sunshine Double” on Monday, downing China’s Zheng Qinwen in straight sets to reach the quarter-finals of the Miami Open. Sabalenka, who is aiming to defend the Miami title she won for the first time last year, eased past 2024 Olympic champion and 23rd seed Zheng 6-3, 6-4 in 1hr 25min to book her place in the last eight. The 27-year-old four-time Grand Slam champion is bidding to join an elite group of women who have won both the WTA Indian Wells and Miami Open in the same year. Only four other women — Steffi Graf in 1994 and 1996, Kim Clijsters in 2005, Victoria Azarenka in 2016 and Iga Swiatek in 2022 — have achieved the feat. Sabalenka, who beat Elena Rybakina to win in Indian Wells earlier this month, will face unseeded American Hailey Baptiste in the quarter-finals.