Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) returns a shot in opposition to Emma Raducanu (GBR) throughout the Cincinnati Open on the Lindner Household Tennis Middle on August 11, 2025. — Reuters
World primary Aryna Sabalenka survived a nail-biting battle to beat Emma Raducanu within the Cincinnati Open, successful a match that went the gap with two tense tiebreaks.
The world primary wanted greater than three hours to beat the Briton in a conflict full of drama, energy, and grit and stored her Cincinnati Open title defence alive by claiming a 7-6(3) 4-6 7-6(5) victory over Raducanu in a marathon third-round conflict on Monday.
In one other conflict of the match, Taylor Fritz superior with a straight-sets win over Lorenzo Sonego.
Recent off their third-round conflict at Wimbledon final month, Sabalenka and Raducanu produced one other epic contest, that includes a 13-deuce sport within the third set, earlier than the Belarusian sealed victory in three hours and 9 minutes.
Sabalenka relied on her trademark highly effective serve to carry agency in the important thing moments, successful two tiebreaks to take her tally to 18 for the season, probably the most by any ladies’s singles participant within the skilled period.
Regardless of the defeat, Raducanu appears to be discovering her greatest type simply in time for this month’s US Open at Flushing Meadows, the place she triumphed in 2021. The Briton outscored Sabalenka in whole factors received, 125–123.
‘I’m actually completely happy to see her wholesome. I can see she’s bettering,’ Sabalenka stated of Raducanu.
‘Happy to get through this match. I really hope tomorrow I have a day off.’
Sabalenka subsequent faces Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro within the final 16.
Elsewhere, Anna Kalinskaya surprised American fifth seed Amanda Anisimova 7-5 6-4 for her third win in opposition to a High 10 opponent within the season. She is going to face fellow Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova within the subsequent spherical.
After a one-hour delay attributable to an influence outage, fourth seed Taylor Fritz defeated Italy’s Sonego 7-6(4) 7-5.
The 27-year-old American didn’t face a break level and capitalised on his lone break alternative earlier than serving out the match, sealing the win in two hours and eight minutes.
Former champion Madison Keys booked her place within the final 16 with a 6-4 6-0 win over Japan’s Aoi Ito, edging a good first set earlier than storming by way of the second in simply 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 stated. ‘Once I got a break early in the second I wanted to run away with it and keep that momentum and I did.’
