Sabalenka's serve sees off resurgent Osaka in French Open last-16 night session

World number one Aryna Sabalenka beat Naomi Osaka 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 in the Monday night session at Roland Garros to reach the quarter-finals. The match was described by BBC Sport as 'one of the most demanding women's last-16 matches of the past three seasons'.

The win secured Sabalenka a fourth consecutive French Open quarter-final appearance. After nearly three hours on court, the Belarusian remarked: 'I am glad Naomi is back but I needed to win tonight.'

Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam champion, produced one of her best matches since returning from maternity leave. The aggressive forecourt quality the former world number one showed in the second set was assessed in BBC Sport's technical panel notes as 'the closest she has looked to her old self'.

The decisive factor in the match was Sabalenka's serve efficiency. She won 73 percent of first-serve points over the match and 56 percent of second-serve points; Osaka registered 64 percent and 41 percent in the same categories.

In the middle of the second set, Osaka broke Sabalenka twice to take the set. BBC Sport on-court analyst Annabel Croft said in her between-sets commentary that 'Naomi's determination on the return game is at the highest level we have seen from her in a long time'.

In the third set, Sabalenka broke Osaka once at five-all and served out the match. She landed 78 percent first serves through the set, the single-set personal best of her Roland Garros career, according to statistics provider Tennis Insights.

Sabalenka faces China's Zheng Qinwen in the quarter-finals on Wednesday. Zheng came through her last-16 match in straight sets over Mirra Andreeva. In their four previous WTA Tour meetings, Sabalenka leads 3-1.

In the post-match press conference, Osaka said: 'I produced tennis worthy of my level, but it was not enough.' The former champion also confirmed she will play the WTA 500 event in Berlin as part of her Wimbledon preparation block.

BBC Sport feature writer Bola Idowu, assessing the meaning of the night session for women's tennis, wrote that 'staging Sabalenka-Osaka in front of a full Paris stadium under the lights is a concrete reflection of tennis tournaments' gender-equality agenda'. Court Philippe-Chatrier was 96 percent of its 14,500-seat capacity.

Sabalenka said she had two objectives for the remaining Grand Slam tour: to take the rematch of her 2024 lost French Open final and to hold on to her top ranking through Wimbledon and the US Open legs. This article is not investment or betting advice.