MADRID, April 28 (Reuters) – World number one Aryna Sabalenka suffered a shock 2-6 6-2 7-6(6) defeat by Hailey Baptiste at the Madrid Open on Tuesday as the American produced the biggest win of her career after saving six match points to reach the semi-finals for the first time.
The 24-year-old Baptiste, seeded 30, claimed her first victory over a top-five player, handing defending champion Sabalenka only her second defeat of the season.
The 30th seed will now face world number nine Mirra Andreeva, after the Russian got past Canada’s Leylah Fernandez 7-6(1) 6-3 in the quarter-finals earlier on Tuesday.
“Incredible. Super proud of myself,” Baptiste said. “It was a super tight match, 7-6 in the third. Had to fight off match points. I’m really happy right now.
“It just shows me where my game lies. I’ve always believed it. Now I’m starting to put it into action and the world is seeing it as well.”
The defeat of top-seeded Belarusian Sabalenka is the latest upset at the WTA 1000 clay tournament that has seen the top seven seeds knocked out.
Baptiste is guaranteed to reach a career-high ranking of at least 24th after also reaching the Miami Open quarter-finals last month, where she lost to Sabalenka.
(Reporting by Janina Nuno Rios in Mexico City; Editing by Ken Ferris)
