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Top seed Aryna Sabalenka twice came back from a break down in the first set and once more in the second to outlast Emma Raducanu and advance to the Wimbledon fourth round with a hard-fought 7-6(6) 6-4 victory.
Raducanu was in a strong position to claim the first set with a 4-2 lead, but a lapse in consistency allowed the fierce, hard-hitting Sabalenka to storm back, taking three consecutive games—including a love break in the eighth—to lead 5-4. In a dramatic tenth game, Sabalenka had SEVEN break points to close out the set, but Raducanu dug deep and held serve to level at 5-5, sending the home crowd on Centre Court into a frenzy.
The players then traded breaks, and after 63 minutes of thrilling, emotionally charged tennis, the set headed into a tiebreak. On paper, Sabalenka had the upper hand with a commanding 14-1 tiebreak record this season. In a tense climax, Raducanu earned her first set point, only for Sabalenka to save it with a daring drop shot to level at 6-6. Just one point later, the powerful Belarusian seized her eighth set point—and this time, she converted it with a confident finish at the net.
The world No. 40 Raducanu, who had ousted 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova in the previous round, remained composed and in control of her game. A series of three unforced errors from Sabalenka in one service game opened the door for the resurgent 2021 US Open champion, who capitalized on the opportunity—breaking the favorite with yet another Sabalenka misfire to take a 3-1 lead in the second set. Raducanu pushed ahead to a 4-1 lead, but just like in the first set, Sabalenka roared back, winning five straight games to power into the fourth round.
According to the WTA, this marked the 10th time a British player has faced the world No. 1 at Wimbledon since the rankings were introduced half a century ago. The only one to emerge victorous was Virginia Wade, who defeated Chris Evert in the semifinals en route to the title.
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