American Hailey Baptiste has pulled off one of the upsets of the tennis season, knocking out world number one Aryna Sabalenka at the Madrid Open quarter-finals in a match that went right down to the wire.
The 30th seed saved six match points across a gruelling two-and-a-half-hour battle before eventually winning 2-6, 6-2, 7-6, ending Sabalenka’s 15-match winning streak in the process.
The Belarusian, who was defending the Madrid title, had five match points in the third set alone before Baptiste broke her to serve for the match. Sabalenka broke back and pushed it to a tie-break, but Baptiste held her nerve, winning the final three points to seal a stunning victory.
It’s her first career win over a top-five player, and only the second time Sabalenka has been beaten this season, after Elena Rybakina’s win at the Australian Open final. Baptiste now faces Russia’s Mirra Andreeva in the semi-finals.