The top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka overcame Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in their fourth-round match on Wednesday night, bringing her one step closer to successfully defending her Cincinnati Open championship.
In an hour and twenty minutes, the world number one defeated Jessica 6-1, 7-5, to set up a matchup with Elena Rybakina.
The second set was difficult for Sabalenka after the first one was simple. Jessica took a 5-4 lead in the second set after winning three straight games after leading 4-2, which was on track for a straight victory. She had two opportunities to win the set and force a deciding, but the match was lost due to Sabalenka’s late rally.
“Jessica is a great player,” Sabalenka said after the match as quoted by WTA’s official website.
“I knew coming into the night that I would have to work for every point. She did not start well at the beginning, but then she found her rhythm, and it was a really tough battle. I’m super happy to get this win in straight sets. I did not want to stay here for three hours,” she added.
Additionally, Sabalenka achieved the milestone for the third consecutive season, becoming the first player to record 50 wins on the WTA Tour this year.
However, Rybakina defeated Madison Keys 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-2 in a match among the top 10. Rybakina became the second player in the top 10 to achieve three comeback victories on her way to a Tier 1/WTA 1000 quarterfinal since 1990 following a defeat to Keys at the Australian Open this year.
She defeated Paula Badosa in a comeback victory in Dubai in February, and this is her second top-10 victory of the year. A matchup with Sabalenka will provide her with another opportunity to defeat a player ranked in the top 10.
Against Rybakina, Sabalenka is ahead 7–4.
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