Breaking News: Hailey Baptiste Upsets World Number One Aryna Sabalenka at Madrid Open
Hailey Baptiste defeated Aryna Sabalenka in the quarter-finals of the Madrid Open. Baptiste, the 30th seed, saved six match points to win 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (8-6). The match lasted over two and a half hours.
With this victory, Baptiste ended Sabalenka’s 15-match winning streak. She is only the second player this season to beat the Belarusian, following Elena Rybakina at the Australian Open final.
Baptiste noted that her recent match against Sabalenka in Miami helped her prepare. After losing the first set, she converted three of four break points in the second set to force a deciding set.
In the third set, Baptiste trailed 5-4 but saved five match points. She broke Sabalenka for the third time to serve for the match. Although Sabalenka broke back and had a sixth match point at 6-5 in the tie-break, Baptiste won three consecutive points to secure the victory.
Baptiste will now face world number nine Mirra Andreeva in the semi-finals.
