Wimbledon: No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka holds off home favorite Emma Raducanu at Centre Court
Sabalenka, a two-time semifinalist at the All England Club, fought back in both sets against the the 2021 U.S. Open champion, who had been playing some of her best tennis since her title run at Flushing Meadows as a qualifier at age 18.
In a 74-minute first set, Sabalenka converted her eighth set point, which came 30 minutes after the first.
Raducanu went up 4-2, only to see Sabalenka reel off 11 of 12 points during one stretch while moving out front by a 5-4 score.
Then arrived an epic game, lasting 13 minutes and containing 22 points, eight deuces, and seven set points for Sabalenka — all ending with Raducanu holding serve.
Then, Raducanu had a set point while leading 6-5 in the tiebreaker, but Sabalenka saved it with a drop-shot winner and took the last three points of the set — ending it with a volley winner.
The fans provided extra energy for the British player, cheering wildly when Raducanu fired winners and exhaling 'aww!' when she missed.
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