MELBOURNE: Top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka overcame several bouts of inconsistent play Friday to beat Anastasia Potapova 7-6 (4), 7-6 (7) and advance to the fourth round at the Australian Open.
Sabalenka, chasing her third Australian Open title in four years, led 6-5 and 40-0 in the opening set but Potapova saved all three set points to send it to a tiebreaker. Sabalenka led 3-0 in the tiebreaker before Potapova leveled at 3-3.
Sabalenka held two more set points and clinched the set when she laced a backhand down the line off Potapova’s second serve.
After trailing 4-0 in the second set, Potapova rallied to tie it 4-4 and again force a tiebreaker. Potapova had three set points to win the set in the tiebreaker, but Sabalenka rallied when the pressure was on.
“She played incredible tennis,” Sabalenka said of Potapova in her on-court TV interview. “I was always on the back foot. There are days where you just have to fight and … it was such a fight.”
Sabalenka won the Australian Open title in 2023 and 2024 and was the runner-up a year ago to Madison Keys. Sabalenka has also won the US Open twice.
In other women’s matches, No. 17 Victoria Mboko defeated 14th-seeded Clara Tauson 7-6 (5), 5-7, 6-3.
On the men’s side, No. 11 Daniil Medvedev rallied from two sets down to beat Fabian Marozsan of Hungary 6-7 (5), 4-6, 7-5, 6-0, 6-3. Medvedev is the 2021 US Open champion.
Also, No. 19 Tommy Paul of the United States beat Alejandro Davidovich when Davidovich retired after dropping the first two sets 6-1, 6-1.
And 25th-seeded Learner Tien of the United States defeated Nuno Borges 7-6 (9), 6-4, 6-2. Tien will play Medvedev in the fourth round.
In later matches on Friday, top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz played Corentin Moutet, and third-seeded Coco Gauff played fellow American Hailey Baptiste.
Inconsistent Sabalenka advances to the fourth round at the Australian Open
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Inconsistent Sabalenka advances to the fourth round at the Australian Open
- Top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka is chasing her third Australian Open title in four years
- Daniil Medvedev rallies from two sets down to beat Fabian Marozsan of Hungary
Kane helps Bayern past Leipzig into German Cup semis
- Bayern join defending champions Stuttgart, Bayer Leverkusen and Freiburg in the last four of this season’s competition
MUNICH, Germany: Harry Kane scored a penalty and Luis Diaz struck again as Bayern Munich beat RB Leipzig 2-0 on Wednesday to reach the German Cup semifinals for the first time since 2020.
Already on the wrong side of two Bayern thumpings this season, Leipzig were much improved but the hosts grabbed hold of the match with two goals in four second-half minutes.
Bayern join defending champions Stuttgart, Bayer Leverkusen and Freiburg in the last four of this season’s competition.
Kane’s penalty was his 39th goal in all competitions for Bayern this season, while Diaz’s goal was his fifth in his past three matches.
Winners of this competition a record 20 times, 14 more than any other club, Bayern had failed to make it past the quarter-finals since 2020, when they beat Leverkusen in the final.
Leipzig had won two of the past four German Cups but Bayern had form over the visitors this season, winning their two Bundesliga clashes by a combined score of 11-1.
Leipzig pressured the hosts early and were celebrating a goal after just four minutes, but an acrobatic Christoph Baumgartner strike was disallowed for a narrow offside.
Bayern immediately made the most of the let-off, Kane forcing a last-ditch clearance from Ridle Baku with the Leipzig goalkeeper laying on the turf.
The home side gradually wrestled control of the match and were unlucky not to take the lead with 57 minutes gone when Leipzig ‘keeper Maarten Vandevoordt denied Serge Gnabry with a stunning save.
Bayern were in front just five minutes later, Kane converting from the spot after Vandevoordt felled an advancing Josip Stanisic in the box.
Kane’s spot-kick, his fifth goal versus Leipzig this season, was his 12th penalty in all competitions this campaign.
Bayern’s goals this season have come in bursts and the Bavarians scored again just four minutes later, when Michael Olize found Diaz on the counter to help book a spot in the final four.
The German Cup final will be held at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium on May 23.
