The world’s number one ARYNA Sabalenka survived a nail -biting match to beat Emma Raducanu in the Cincinnati Open and won a match that went the distance with two excited tiebreaks.
The number one world needed more than three hours to overcome the British in a clash filled with drama, power and grain and kept her cincinnati open title defense alive by asserting a 7-6 (3) 4-6 7-6 (5) victory over Raducanu in a marathon third-round clash on Monday.
In another clash of the tournament, Taylor Fritz advanced with a straight win over Lorenzo Sonego.
Sabalenka and Raducanu were fresh by their third-round clash in Wimbledon last month and produced another epic competition with a 13-dauce game in the third set before the Belarusian sealed victory of three hours and nine minutes.
Sabalenka trusted that her trademark -powerful servant to hold on to the most important moments and won two tiebreaks to take her numbers to 18 for the season, most of any woman’s single player in the professional era.
Despite the defeat, Raducanu seems to find her best shape just in time for this month’s US Open on Flushing Meadows, where she prevailed in 2021.
“I’m really happy to see her healthy. I can see she’s improving,” Sabalenka said of Raducanu.
“Glad to get through this match. I really hope tomorrow I have a day off. ‘
Sabalenka next time Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro turns in the last 16.
Elsewhere, Anna Kalinskaya stunned American fifth seeds Amanda Anisimova 7-5 6-4 for her third win against a top 10 opponent this season. She faces the Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova in the next round.
After an hour’s delay caused by a power outage, fourth seeds defeated Taylor Fritz Italy’s Sonego 7-6 (4) 7-5.
The 27-year-old American did not face a break point and capitalized on his lonely break before serving the match and sealed the victory in two hours and eight minutes.
Former Master Madison Keys booked his place in the last 16 with a 6-4 6-0 win over Japan’s Aoi ito, angular a tight first set before storming through the second in just 20 minutes.
“In the first set I came to a pretty good lead and then lost a little my way,” said sixth seed keys. “When I got a break early in the second, I would run away with it and keep that momentum, and I did.”
