Emma Raducanu has been knocked out of the Cincinnati Open, losing to world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in a narrow third-round clash.
Monday’s match was the pair’s second meeting of the year after Sabalenka edged to victory in their third-round encounter at Wimbledon.
Another thrilling outing followed in Cincinnati, where an incredibly tight match lasting over three hours saw Raducanu take the 27-year-old to a third-set tiebreak.
In a tense finale, Sabalenka emerged victorious to clinch a 7-6, 4-6 ,7-6 win.
“As I said at Wimbledon I am really happy to see her healthy — mentally and physically,” Sabalenka said of Raducanu.
“Every time she is improving and I can see she is getting back to her best.
“I’m enjoying fighting against her — she is such an incredible player.”
Raducanu’s path to the third round of the competition saw her beat Olga Danilovic in the previous match, her first since Rafael Nadal’s former coach Francis Roig joined her team.
The British No. 1 made a quick start, earning her first break point in the second game of the opening set, before Sabalenka responded with a break of her own and soon levelled the score.
Sabalenka looked to have taken control of the match, breaking Raducanu’s serve again on her way to winning four successive games, but Raducanu managed to level at 4-4 and showed her strength to snatch the ninth game following a lengthy deuce.
A tight tussle saw Sabalenka able to set up a tiebreak and she withstood some solid resistance from the Brit to clinch the first set in just under an hour.
Another close contest followed as both players held their serve in the early stages of the second set, but Raducanu managed to shift the momentum by winning a break point in the seventh game to take the lead.
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The Brit then served out the set in style with an ace to tie the match.
Little could separate the pair throughout the third set as both players continued to hold their serve and an incredible eighth game saw 13 deuces take place, with Sabalenka unable to convert four break points before Raducanu finally clinched the game.
For the second time in the match the set reached a tiebreaker and, with her second match point, Sabalenka squeezed through to the next round.
The world No. 1 will meet Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in the round-of-16 after the Spaniard beat Taylor Townsend earlier on Monday.
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