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American Hailey Baptiste saves 6 match points to stun world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka at Madrid Open

By TALES AZZONI  -  AP

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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