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Hailey Baptiste won six match points as she stunned world number one and defending champion Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinals of the Madrid Open.
The 30th seed Baptiste ended Sabalenka’s 15-match winning streak 2-6 6-2 7-6 (8-6) in just over two and a half hours.
She is the second player after Elena Rybakina to beat the Belarusian in the Australian Open final this season.
“I played her a few weeks ago (in Miami) and it was a really close match. I had a better idea of how to play her and the adjustments I needed to make,” Baptiste, 24, said.
“For her, it was an awkward situation for her, me serving and volleying, hitting a drop shot at one match point. It’s not the easiest position to put her in, that’s the plan.”
After dropping the first set, Baptiste converted three of her four break points in the second to force a decider.
Down 5-4 in the third, the American saved five match points before holding out for the match after breaking Sabalenka for the third time in the set.
Sabalenka stormed back to take the sixth point at 6-5. However, Baptiste rattled off three straight points to complete her first win over top five players.
Canada’s Laylah Fernandez will face world number nine Mira Andreeva in the semi-finals.
“She played very brave tennis on those match points,” Sabalenka said. “In the first game of the second set, I double-faulted out of nowhere. This gave her confidence. She started playing furiously. what can i say You did well.”
