Relentless Aryna Sabalenka outlasts Emma Raducanu in three-hour epic at Cincinnati

Aryna Sabalenka earned a truly epic victory at the Cincinnati Open, defeating a determined Emma Raducanu 7-6(3), 4-6, 7-6(5) to advance to the Round of 16. The defending champion had to endure a three-hour and 12-minute battle in what was probably the most epic match of the tournament so far.

The world No. 1 stood firm with her serve for much of the match and remains alive in Cincinnati. In her quest for a spot in the quarterfinals, she will face Spain's Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, who is coming off a dominant win against Taylor Townsend.

From the first set, things started well for the former US Open champion, who took the first nine points in a row against a lost-looking Sabalenka. The Brit went up 2-0 and had absolute control of the match, but Sabalenka's reaction came. This time, she went on a run of points and secured two consecutive breaks, turning a 0-2 deficit into a 4-2 lead.

As Sabalenka found her rhythm, Raducanu held her own on serve. Both players had good serving stats. Sabalenka landed 69% of her first serves and won 75% of those points, while Raducanu was slightly behind with a 64% first serve percentage and a 74% win rate.

The battle stretched on as Raducanu managed to break back and win three consecutive games. The set reached 5-5, with both players having good chances to take the lead with two breaks each. It all came down to the tie-break, where Sabalenka's quality once again prevailed—just as in their previous matchups—with the Belarusian taking a near-perfect tie-break 7-6 [7-3].

While break opportunities were plentiful in the first set, the second set began with both players looking more secure, especially improving their performance on second serves. There were no break opportunities until 3-3, with Sabalenka showing no signs of weakness while Raducanu had no trouble keeping pace.

In the seventh game, Sabalenka felt the pressure and Raducanu seized the momentum, earning three break opportunities and finally getting the advantage. From there, she held on to her serve and took the set 6-4, winning her first set against Sabalenka after two previous straight-set defeats.

The third set continued with a high level of play from both players, although Raducanu was having trouble hitting her first serve. It didn't matter much as the effectiveness was almost the same for both, with a 79% win rate for the Belarusian and 77% for the Brit. In fact, Raducanu was the first to have a break opportunity in the third game, but she couldn't convert it.

With the score at 4-3 in favor of Sabalenka—and no breaks until that point—came the most contested game of the match. A total of 32 points were played, during which Raducanu saved four break points before holding her service game to tie it at 4-4.

The tension remained high in the final part of the set, with both players holding their serves to reach a tie-break that would decide everything. Sabalenka got an early mini-break on the sixth point, but after the change of ends, Raducanu recovered. The Belarusian ultimately secured the win by taking three of the last four points, closing out a victory by the slimmest of margins with a final score of 7-6(3), 4-6, 7-6(5). In the Round of 16, her opponent will be Spain's Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, who has been in inspired form in recent weeks after reaching her first WTA 1000 quarterfinals at the Canadian Open a week ago.