Aryna Sabalenka is congratulated by Emma Raducanu after their competition during the Cincinnati Open in Lindner Family Tennis Center on 11 August 2025 in Mason, Ohio. | Photocredit: Getty images via AFP
Top-arranged Aryna Sabalenka fought through a three-hour struggle to keep an inspired Emma Raducanu 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/5) on Monday and to reach the fourth round of the ATP and WTA Cincinnati open.
The top seeds, who won the Cincinnati final a year ago about Jessica Pegula, increased her lead at the top of the WTA Tour Match-Win statistics while securing her 49th of the season.
But the battle was really for Sabalenka, who ended with two aces in the final phase.
“I am happy to get through this difficult match,” said Sabalenka. “I just hope that tomorrow is a day off. I need time to recover from such a great fight.”
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The British number one survived an eighth 25-minute match of the last set, which went to 13 Deuses, with Raducanu those four breaking points saved before he finally held 4-all and finally in a tie-graker.
But Sabalenka squeezed the victory with a sixth bait for 5-4 in the breaker and delivered her seventh at the second match point to end the battle after three hours and nine minutes.
“It’s all about Momentum,” said Sabalenka. “At the end I took some risks, went for crazy shots, went to the net.
“A risky game of mine helped to put a lot of pressure on her,” she said about an opponent that she hugs warmly at the net.
Sabalenka offers for her 10th trophy at 1000 level and second this season after winning Madrid.
In other results on the third round at the last major adjustment prior to the US Open, Ekaterina Alexandrova defeated the Australian Maya Joint with 6-4, 6-3.
Sorana Cirstea defeated Yuan Yue 6-7 (2/7), 6-4, 6-4 and will then play the third seed Iga Swiatek, who received a walkover in the round of 16.
Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maleiro, a quarter-final in Montreal this month, achieved further progress of the hard court with a 6-4, 6-1 thrashing of the American wild card Taylor Townsend.
Her next opponent will be Sabalenka on Wednesday.
In the men’s pulling, the seventh seed Holger Rune, a semi-finalist here a year ago, won his 99th career match in cement, with the hope of Alex Michelsen 7-6 (7/4), 6-3.
Felix Auger-Aliasassime won a victory for Canada and went up with 7-6 (7/4), 4-2 when the French opponent Arthur Rinder Knech went on the field after two debilitating hours with apparent heat disease.
The American Frances Tiafoe went past Ugo Humbert from France 6-4, 6-4 in 82 minutes.
Published – August 12, 2025 12:24 pm
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