Down 6-2 in final-set tiebreak, Sabalenka escapes Rybakina in Berlin

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka stages a remarkable comeback against Elena Rybakina in a thrilling quarterfinal at the Berlin Tennis Open. Sabalenka triumphs 7-6(6), 3-6, 7-6(6) after being down 6-2 in the final-set tiebreak, securing her eighth semifinal appearance of the season. Sabalenka now leads their head-to-head 7-4 after a 2 hour, 42-minute battle.

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka authored a stunning escape in the quarterfinals of the Berlin Tennis Open on Friday against Elena Rybakina. Trailing the 2022 Wimbledon champion 6-2 in the final-set tiebreak, Sabalenka ripped off six straight points in a 7-6(6), 3-6, 7-6(6) comeback victory to reach her eighth semifinal of the season.

Berlin: Draws | Scores | Order of play

The 2 hour, 42-minute match was the latest chapter of a thrilling head-to-head between the two players, one which Sabalenka now leads 7-4. The pair had traded victories in their last five meetings, but Rybakina looked on course to score back-to-back wins over Sabalenka for the first time since 2023 when she turned a 5-4 third-set deficit into a lead, and moved one point away from her fourth semifinal of the season.

But after a Sabalenka backhand dribbled over after hitting the net on the first match point, the stroke of luck put wind back into the top seed's sails.

"Elena, she's a great player and we've had a lot of tough battles ... I have no idea how I was able to win those last points. I think I just got lucky, to be honest," Sabalenka confessed afterwards.

"I remember a long time ago when I was just starting, I won a lot of matches being down match points, and not so long ago, I was thinking that it's been a while since I've made a crazy comeback, and here I am.

"It's amazing to win matches like that ... and I'm proud of myself for how I stayed in. I was fighting, I was trying until the very last point."

More to come...

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