The world number one Aryna Sabalenka survived a biting battle to beat Emma Raducanu to the Cincinnati Open, winning a match that has left the distance with two broken equality.
The world number one needs more than three hours to overcome the Briton in a confrontation filled with drama, power and grain and has kept its defense of the title of Cincinnati as a victory of 7-6 (3) 4-6 7-6 (5) on Raducanu during a third-round marathon confrontation on Monday.
In another tournament confrontation, Taylor Fritz advanced with a Sets victory over Lorenzo Sonego.
Freshly out of their third round confrontation in Wimbledon last month, Sabalenka and Raducanu produced another epic contest, with a 13 recympist match in the third set, before the victory of the Bélarus sealed in three hours and nine minutes.
Sabalenka relied on his powerful, powerful brand, will be firm in key moments, winning two equality breakage to bring his count to 18 for the season, the most by all the players of the professional era.
Despite the defeat, Raducanu seems to find its best form just in time for US Open this month at Flushing Meadows, where she triumphed in 2021. The Briton ahead of Sabalenka in total points won, 125-123.
“I am really happy to see her healthy. I can see that she improves, “said Sabalenka about Raducanu.
“Happy to overcome this match. I really hope that tomorrow I have one day off.
Sabalenka will then face Jessica Bouzas Maneiro from Spain in the last 16.
Elsewhere, Anna Kalinskaya amaze the fifth American seeded Amanda Anisimova 7-5 6-4 for her third victory against a top 10 of the season. She will face her Russian compatriot Ekaterina Alexandrova in the next round.
After a period of one hour caused by a power failure, the fourth seeded Taylor Fritz beat Italy Sonego 7-6 (4) 7-5.
The 27 -year -old American did not face a break point and capitalized on his only break opportunity before serving the match, sealing the victory in two hours and eight minutes.
The former champion Madison Keys reserved her place in the last 16 with a 6-4 6-0 victory against Aoi Ito of Japan, ahead of a first set before assaulting the second in just 20 minutes.
“In the first set, I took a fairly good lead, then I lost my way a bit,” said Sixth Seed Keys. “Once I had a break at the start of the second, I wanted to run away and keep this momentum and I did it.
