Aryna Sabalenka was able to outlast Emma Raducanu in their third round battle at the Cincinnati Open.
Sabalenka had beaten Raducanu at Wimbledon last month, where she was tested on Centre Court.
Despite the challenge that the former US Open champion possessed, Sabalenka claimed she was excited to face Raducanu again.
This match went all the way to a third set tie-break, where Sabalenka showed why she is the world number one.
Aryna Sabalenka says what she thinks about Emma Raducanu after beating her
Sabalenka beat Raducanu, 7-6(3) 4-6 7-6(5), in a match that lasted over three hours in the sweltering day conditions in Cincinnati.
After continuing her title defence at the Cincinnati Open, Sabalenka spoke in her on-court interview where she was asked about Raducanu.
Sabalenka has previously made a big prediction about Raducanu, and she continued her praise by calling her both an ‘incredible player’ and a ‘really nice person’.
“As I said at Wimbledon I am really happy to see her healthy,” said Sabalenka. “Mentally, physically and every time she is improving! I am happy to see it.
“I enjoy playing against her. She’s such an incredible player, really nice person and I’m super happy for her and of course happy to get through this difficult match. Three hours 10 minutes, I really hope tomorrow is a day off otherwise I will not be able to recover after such a great battle.”
There was very little between the two players in the third round match, but Sabalenka went on to explain that she thinks her risk taking might have been the deciding factor in who won the match.
“I think it was all about momentum and I think the risk in this game,” continued the Belarusian. “At the end I went for crazy shots and went to the net on the most important points. I think it was a little bit of a risky game from me and it helped to put a lot of pressure on her.”
Who is Aryna Sabalenka playing next at the Cincinnati Open?
Sabalenka will now have a day to recover from her gruelling third round match to prepare for her next opponent, which will be Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.
The Spaniard has already collected some notable victories in Cincinnati, with Bouzas Maneiro beating Venus Williams, Leylah Fernandez and Taylor Townsend to achieve her best result at the tournament.
However, she will now need to do something that she has never done before and beat Sabalenka.
The only previous meeting between Sabalenka and Bouzas Maneiro came at the Australian Open earlier this year, where the former won in straight sets.
Bouzas Maneiro will be hoping that she can take advantage of the lengthy match Sabalenka had to play to come past Raducanu when they play on Wednesday, August 13.
While Raducanu will now head to the US Open, where she will have to wait to see if she will be seeded for the upcoming tournament.
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