04/28/26 05:13:00
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04/28 17:12 CDT American Hailey Baptiste saves 6 match points to stun world No.
1 Aryna Sabalenka at Madrid Open
American Hailey Baptiste saves 6 match points to stun world No. 1 Aryna
Sabalenka at Madrid Open
By TALES AZZONI
AP Sports Writer
MADRID (AP) --- American Hailey Baptiste earned the biggest win of her career
by saving six match points and beating world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka at the
Madrid Open on Tuesday.
The 32nd-ranked Baptiste rallied to a 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (6) victory --- her first
over a top 5 opponent. She will play in a WTA 1000 semifinal for the first time.
The result ended a 15-match winning streak for Sabalenka, who was the defending
champion in Madrid.
The 24-year-old Baptiste is the first player to beat Sabalenka from match
points down since Iga Swiatek did it in the 2024 final in Madrid.
"It was a tough match. She played great," Sabalenka said. "I played great. I
think I had some opportunities in the third set. I felt like I was maybe a
little bit rushing the point over there. But it's OK, sometimes I guess you
have to learn, take the bad stuff from this week and move on."
Baptiste will face No. 8 Mirra Andreeva, who advanced to her first Madrid
semifinal with a straight-set win over Leylah Fernandez.
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
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