Berlin Thriller: Aryna Sabalenka saves four match points, completes epic comeback against Elena Rybakina

Aryna Sabalenka survived a high-level challenge from Elena Rybakina to clinch victory at the Berlin Ladies Open by 7-6(6), 3-6, 7-6(6). The World No. 1 was pushed to the brink - saving four match points - but found her best tennis when it mattered most to advance to the tournament semifinals.

This was the 11th encounter between the two, and the Belarusian managed to extend her dominance in their head-to-head to 7-4. Rybakina misses the chance to return to the Top 10, while Sabalenka is already looking ahead to her next match against the 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova.

The first set was a rollercoaster, with both players initially dropping their opening service games after multiple opportunities for each. In the subsequent games, they seemed to stabilize on serve, but inconsistencies reappeared around the sixth game. Rybakina took a 4-2 lead, but Sabalenka quickly responded with a break back, leveling the score at 4-4.

Sabalenka only managed a 43% first-serve percentage, winning 56% of those points, and held serve thanks to consistent errors from Rybakina. The Kazakh struggled particularly with her second serves (just 29%), but both managed to push the set to a tie-break. In the decisive moment, Rybakina recovered from 2-5 to 5-5, but it wasn't enough. Sabalenka closed the set with a mini-break, going up 7-6(8-6) after a hard-fought 57-minute set.

Rybakina returned to the court showing her usual composure and secured an early break, then went up 2-0 on her serve. The 2022 Wimbledon champion got another break opportunity at 3-1 but couldn't convert it, as Sabalenka began to mount a comeback in the set, eventually leveling at 3-3 on her first break chance.

However, the final part of the set saw Sabalenka particularly erratic, and Rybakina managed to exploit it. Two consecutive breaks easily gave her the set 6-3, winning 75% of points on her first serve compared to her opponent's mere 52%.

The final part of the match promised to be hotly contested, and both players brought their best on serve. With Rybakina serving first, Sabalenka was the one struggling more to stay in the match, facing deuces in nearly all of her service games. Nevertheless, the score reached 4-4 with no break points for either player.

It was then that Sabalenka capitalized on a moment of tension to break Rybakina to love. She had the chance to serve for the win, but Rybakina responded by securing the break back and leveling at 5-5.

Everything ultimately came down to a thrilling tie-break, where both players struggled with their serve. Rybakina was the one who gained the advantage, going up 6-2 on her serve with four match points. However, she was unable to capitalize on the lead, losing the next six points consecutively—three of them on her own serve. Sabalenka staged an incredible comeback to close out the hard-fought victory with a score of 7-6(6), 3-6, 7-6(6).