“A future star, a future Grand Slam champion, no doubt about that,” said Aryna Sabalenka when she spoke about Victoria Mboko after their match at the Indian Wells Open. The world No.1 defeated the 19-year-old 7-6(7-0), 6-4.
The first set was very close from the start. Aryna Sabalenka and Victoria Mboko both served well and tried to control the points from the baseline. Mboko played with confidence and matched Sabalenka’s powerful shots.
Neither player managed to break serve, so the set went to a tie-break. In the tie-break, Sabalenka played much better and dominated it 7–0 to win the first set.
The second set was still competitive, but Sabalenka began to control the match more. Her strong serve and forehand helped her win important points. Mboko kept fighting and looked for chances to break serve, but Sabalenka stayed focused.
She eventually got an important break and then held her serve to win the set 6–4 and take the match in straight sets.
Sabalenka continued by saying, “It’s incredible to see these young girls these days, how brave they are. They go out there, they go after their shots, they’re aggressive, they’re fighting.
“It’s incredible to see, and for sure we are going to play many more matches in the future.”
Aryna Sabalenka moves into the semi-finals of the Indian Wells Open. She will next face Czech player Linda Noskova. Sabalenka and Noskova have faced each other once before on the WTA Tour.
Their only meeting came in the final of the Adelaide International 1 in 2023, where Sabalenka won 6-3, 7-6 to claim the title.
