Two-time defending U.S. Open champion Aryna Sabalenka isn’t ready to relinquish her crown.
Trailing 4-2 in the third set, Sabalenka rebounded with a flourish to record a 7-6 (1), 3-6, 7-6 (7) victory over sixth-seeded Linda Noskova on Tuesday in New York.
Sabalenka won her 10th straight tiebreaker at the U.S. Open to advance her sixth consecutive semifinal of the tournament, matching Serena Williams (2011-16).
“What a battle. What an incredible player she is,” said Sabalenka, a four-time major champion. “Super happy to get this win. Super happy.”
Sabalenka will meet the winner of Tuesday’s late match pitting third-seeded Jessica Pegula against 26th-seeded Emma Navarro. Sabalenka is 9-4 versus Pegula all time and 2-1 against Navarro.
Sabalenka also won her eighth consecutive semifinal in a hardcourt major, which is fourth all time behind Martina Hingis (12), Steffi Graf and Chris Evert (nine).
“I’m speechless right now because I was pushing myself to the limit in this match, especially in the third set,” Sabalenka said. “I honestly thought that that’s it, the match is over, and probably that’s what helped me to kind of like, I don’t know, feel loose and just go after my shots.”
“I just want to, you know, relax, recover, and, yeah, just reflect on what just happened.”
Noskova, the reigning Wimbledon champion, saw her winning streak in Grand Slam matches halted at 10.
The Czech Republic native sent a forehand down the line to pull within 8-7 in the tiebreaker; however, the Belarusian relied on her serve to put away her foe.
Noskova won a point at the net before unleashing a blast down the line to take a 2-0 lead in the tiebreaker. Sabalenka responded by winning the next three points before her shot from the baseline found the net to level it at 3-3.
Noskova’s first double-fault of the third set gave Sabalenka a 4-3 lead in the tiebreaker. The latter followed that up with a ferocious forehand winner and a brilliant serve before a sizzling ace gave her a 7-5 lead.
Noskova held serve to force a tiebreaker in the first set, but Sabalenka breezed to a 7-1 victory in the extra session.
Noskova responded in the second and closed out the set with an ace.
–Field Level Media
