Emma Radukanu was knocked out of the Cincinnati Open and lost to world’s No. 1 Arena Sabalenka in a narrow third round clash.
Monday’s match was the pair’s second meeting after Sabalenka won the third round encounter at Wimbledon.
Another thrilling outing continued in Cincinnati. There, in an incredibly tight three-hour match, Radukanu took the 27-year-old to a three-set tiebreaker.
In a tense finale, Sabalenka won to clinch a 7-6, 4-6, 7-6 victory.
The road to the third round of the Raducanu contest saw him defeat Olga Danilovic in the previous match. She was joined by former Rafael Nadal coach Francis Roig.
British No. 1 got off to a quick start and scored their first breakpoint in the second game of the opening set.
Sabalenka seemed to control the match and defeat Raducanu’s serve again to win four consecutive games, but Raducanu leveled up 4-4 and showed the strength to take 9 games following a long deuce.
A tight fight allowed Sabalenka to set up a tiebreak, and she endured a solid resistance from Britti and clinched the first set in just under an hour.
Another close contest followed as both players held their serves early in the second set, but Raducanu changed momentum by scoring breakpoints and gaining a lead in his seventh game.
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Britt then stylishly provided the set with the ace to tie the match.
Both players kept their serves, with 13 deuces made in the incredible eighth game, and it was impossible to distinguish the pairs across the third set as Sabalenka couldn’t convert the four breakpoints.
The second match reached the tiebreaker, with Sabalenka narrowing it down to the next round at the second match point.
The world’s No. 1 meets Jessica Boosas Maneiro in the 16th round after the Spaniard defeated Taylor Townsend on Monday.
