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Aryna Sabalenka faces Naomi Osaka in a battle of current and former world No 1s with Wimbledon staging a fourth-round blockbuster between four-time grand slam champions.
Osaka, 28, is through to the fourth round of Wimbledon for the first time and while her fashion walk-outs have attracted considerable attention, the Japanese star has found serious form on the grass after struggling on the surface earlier in her career.
Osaka now plays top seed Sabalenka for the fourth time this season. Before this year, Osaka and Sabalenka had not played since the 2018 US Open but Sabalenka has won all three of this season’s meetings – including in the last-16 of last month’s French Open.
Neither Osaka or Sabalenka have won a grass-court before, but the Wimbledon draw is opening up after defeats for Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina and Amanda Anisimova on the other side of the bracket on Saturday.
When is Naomi Osaka v Aryna Sabalenka?
Osaka will play Sabalenka on Centre Court in the second match of the day. It will follow the men’s singles match between Novak Djokovic and qualifier Roman Safiullin, which will get underway shortly after 1:30pm BST. Osaka v Sabalenka will therefore take place at around 4:30pm, but it could be slightly earlier or later depending on Djokovic’s match.
Wimbledon order of play – day seven
Centre Court
1:30PM Start
Roman Safiullin v Novak Djokovic (SRB) [7] Aryna Sabalenka [1] v Naomi Osaka (JPN) [14] Jannik Sinner (ITA) [1] v Shintaro Mochizuki (JPN)
What has Osaka said about Sabalenka?
“Obviously I’ve been doing really well on grass this year. My confidence is pretty high. For me, I know what my grass court tennis looks like. It gives me a pretty stable mindset going into the match no matter who I play.
“I also don’t really have as many doubts as I did on clay court. Maybe it would be a little bit better for me on grass. But I’m not so sure.
“She’s the No. 1 player in the world. If there is someone I had to lose to, I would pick that ranking position. If anything, I would say I learned from all of those matches, so hopefully I can apply, if I do play her.”
Naomi Osaka is through to the fourth round of Wimbledon for the first time (PA Wire)
What has Sabalenka said about Osaka?
“We played several times this year. Always been a battle, always been a tricky match. She’s a very aggressive player, serving well.
“I watched a couple of her matches. In a good shape. But I’m ready to go out there and to bring the fight and to do anything it takes to get through this difficult match.
“I feel like every time she plays me, she’s more focused. She’s aware of my power and aggression and everything. I feel like every time she’s handling herself really good and handling the pressure good. I’m ready to go out there and to fight.”
Sabalenka is bidding to win her first grass-court title at Wimbledon (Reuters)
Osaka v Sabalenka head-to-head
Osaka won their first meeting at the US Open in 2018 but Sabalenka has won all three matches they have played this year, including on hard court and on clay. This will be their meeting on grass.
AloJapan.com