CINCINNATI: World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka kept her Cincinnati Open title defense alive by claiming a 7-6(3) 4-6 7-6(5) victory over Emma Raducanu in a marathon third-round clash on Monday, while men’s top seed Jannik Sinner overcame Canadian Gabriel Diallo.
Fresh off their third-round clash at Wimbledon last month, Sabalenka and Raducanu produced another epic contest, featuring a 13-deuce game in the third set, before the 27-year-old Belarusian sealed victory in three hours and nine minutes.
Sabalenka 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 this month’s US Open at Flushing Meadows, where she triumphed in 2021. The 22-year-old Briton outscored Sabalenka in total points won, 125-123.
“I’m really happy to see her healthy. I can see she’s improving,” Sabalenka said of Raducanu. “Happy to get through this match. I really hope tomorrow I have a day off.”
Sabalenka next faces Spaniard Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in the last 16.
Men’s defending champion Sinner reached the last 16 with a 6-2 7-6(6) victory over Diallo, stretching his winning streak on hardcourts to 23 matches.
The 23-year-old four-times Grand Slam, whose clash with Diallo was delayed by a fire alarm before the players continued through the noise, next faces the winner of Tommy Paul and Adrian Mannarino.
“I feel like today was a very difficult day at the office,” Sinner 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(4) 7-5 after a one-hour delay was caused by a power outage.
The 27-year-old American did not face a break point and capitalized on his lone break opportunity before serving out the match, sealing the win in two hours and eight minutes.
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. Kalinskaya will face fellow Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova in the next round.
