MASON, OH − WTA No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka will continue her Cincinnati Open title defense after a thrilling win on Center Court on Aug. 11.
Sabalenka met No. 30 seed Emma Raducanu in the Round of 32 and the reigning Cincinnati Open champion was locked in a heated battle in a rematch from Wimbledon.
Sabalenka avoided the upset bid with a 7-6 (3), 4-6, 7-5 (5) victory, but Raducanu gave her all she could handle on the hard court in the third-longest WTA match in Cincinnati Open history (3 hours, 9 minutes).
The eighth game of the third set took 23 minutes and featured 13 deuces and four break points before Raducanu prevailed to tie it 4-4. Each player would hold serve the rest of the way before Sabalenka did enough in the third-set tiebreak to punch her ticket to the Round of 16.
Sabalenka now has a WTA tour-best 49 wins this year and will continue her pursuit of another Rookwood Cup in the Round of 16 against Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.
Social media reactions to Aryna Sabalenka’s win over Emma Raducanu
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: ‘What a match.’ Reactions to World No. 1 Sabalenka’s Cincinnati Open win over Raducanu
Reporting by Shelby Dermer, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
