Aryna Sabalenka, the world No 1, overcame Naomi Osaka 6-7 (1), 6-3, 6-2 in a gripping battle on Monday to reach the Madrid Open quarter-finals. Sabalenka, who has claimed titles at Miami , Indian Wells and Brisbane this year, was tested by her Japanese opponent in the fourth-round match, but came back from a set down and a break down. “I was just trying to take one ball at a time and my team was there for me. They really [pushed] me to keep fighting and I’m really happy I didn’t give up and I was pushing until the very last point,” said Sabalenka. The first set between the two four-time grand slam winners was tight, with only one break point forced, by Sabalenka, which Osaka saved to hold for 2-1. Osaka dominated in the tie-break, ripping into a 5-0 lead and took the set when Sabalenka lashed a return wide. Sabalenka stepped up a gear in the second set, although Osaka, the world No 15, dug deep to survive three break points and then managed to engineer a break to take a 2-1 lead.…