Raducanu's second-round victory over Dayana Yastremska, who retired due to illness, marked the first time the Englishman had won back-to-back games since winning three at Indian Wells 12 months ago.
The shock 2021 US Open champion returned to the tour in January after undergoing surgery on both wrists and an ankle and was out for eight months.
She said she is “not too worried” about her recent results as her priority this year is to develop her game.
Raducanu, who is testing herself against Sabalenka, who successfully defended her Australian Open title in January, will be pleased with the progress she has shown.
A break of serve in the sixth game was enough for Sabalenka to take the first set, but Raducanu rebuffed two set points in her service game before converting her opponent into three break points on serve for the set. put pressure on.
Sabalenka got her first break in the fifth game of the second set, moving one step closer to victory.
But Raducanu responded quickly to stay in contention, holding serve to take a 4-3 lead before creating a break point and continuing to trouble the second seed.
Sabelenka hit the decisive break with a 6-5 lead, and after missing three break points despite Raducanu fighting hard to the end, she finally converted her fourth match point to end the match. .
