Aryna Sabalenka survives massive Cincinnati struggle with Emma Raducanu
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Aryna Sabalenka returns a shot against Emma Raducanu during the Cincinnati Open at the Lindner Family Tennis Centre.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
CINCINNATI – World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka kept her Cincinnati Open title defence alive by claiming a 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 7-6 (7-5) victory over Emma Raducanu in a marathon third-round clash on Aug 11, while men’s top seed Jannik Sinner overcame Canadian Gabriel Diallo.
Fresh off their third-round clash at Wimbledon in July, Sabalenka and Raducanu produced another epic contest, featuring a 13-deuce game in the third set, before the Belarusian sealed victory in 3hr 9min.
Sabalenka, 27, relied on her trademark powerful serve to hold firm in the key moments, winning two tiebreaks to take her tally to 18 for the season, the most by any women’s singles player in the professional era.
Despite the defeat, Raducanu seems to be finding her best form just in time for August’s US Open at Flushing Meadows, where she triumphed in 2021.
The 22-year-old Briton outscored Sabalenka in total points won, 125-122.
“I’m really happy to see her healthy. I can see she’s improving,” Sabalenka said of Raducanu.
“It was all about momentum. I took some risks at the end, went for crazy shots, went to the net.
“A risky game from me helped to put a lot of pressure on her.
“Happy to get through this match. I really hope tomorrow I have a day off. I need time to recover from such a great battle.”
Sabalenka next faces Spaniard Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in the last 16. She is bidding for her 10th trophy at the 1000 level and third this season after winning in Madrid and Miami.
Meanwhile, men’s defending champion Sinner reached the last 16 with a 6-2, 7-6 (8-6) victory over Diallo, stretching his winning streak on hard courts to 23 matches.
The 23-year-old four-time Grand Slam champion, whose clash with Diallo was delayed by a fire alarm before the players continued through the noise, next faces Adrian Mannarino, who ousted American Tommy Paul 5-7, 6-3, 6-4.
“I feel like today was a very difficult day at the office,” the Italian said.
“He was serving very well, especially in the second set.
“Against big servers, you always have to find the right balance at the back of the court.
“Today I struggled a bit at times. But still very happy. I need these tough matches... Getting used to very difficult situations.
“I’m very happy this happened before a Grand Slam.
“I’m happy about today. Can I do things better? Yes. But not every day is the same. So I’m very, very happy.”
Earlier, fourth seed Taylor Fritz defeated Italian Lorenzo Sonego 7-6 (7-4), 7-5 after a one-hour delay caused by a power outage.
The 27-year-old American did not face a break point and capitalised on his lone break opportunity before serving out the match, sealing the win in 2hr 8min.
Jessica Bouzas Maneiro returns a shot against Taylor Townsend during the Cincinnati Open at the Lindner Family Tennis Centre.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Former champion Madison Keys booked her place in the last 16 with a 6-4, 6-0 win over Japan’s Aoi Ito, edging a tight first set before storming through the second in just 20 minutes.
“In the first set, I got off to a pretty good lead and then kind of lost my way a bit,” sixth seed Keys said.
“Once I got a break early in the second, I wanted to run away with it and keep that momentum and I did.”
Anna Kalinskaya stunned American fifth seed and Wimbledon runner-up Amanda Anisimova 7-5, 6-4 for her third win against a top-10 opponent in the season.
She will face fellow Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova in the next round.
In other third-round results at the last major tune-up before the US Open, Alexandrova defeated Australian Maya Joint 6-4, 6-3.
Sorana Cirstea defeated Yuan Yue 6-7 (2-7), 6-4, 6-4 and will next play third seed Iga Swiatek, who got a walkover into the round of 16. REUTERS, AFP
