Miami: Aryna Sabalenka registered a resounding 6-4, 6-4 victory over Hailey Baptiste and advanced to her second straight Miami Open semifinal.
Baptiste did well to go toe-to-toe with sabalenka but the World No. 1 maintained her trademark aggression while slowly letting the match tilt in her favor. She won the points she needed, saving three break points in the opening set to repeatedly put Baptiste in unenviable positions.
Despite playing at a high level throughout the opener, the 24-year-old Baptiste finally cracked, with an ill-timed double fault handing Sabalenka the set.
In tje second set, down a break, Baptiste showed grit to break back for 4-4, but after Sabalenka held for 5-4, the American again got tight, committing three double faults to give Sabalenka her first match point. Moments later, Sabalenka uncorked a crosscourt forehand winner to close out the match, WTA reports.
The win sends Sabalenka to the semifinals in the Miami for the second straight year and sets up a 17th career meeting with Elena Rybakina
at the WTA Tour.
Sabalenka leads the head-to-head 9-7 and won their most recent encounter in the Indian Wells final two weeks ago, saving a match point before lifting the trophy and beginning her pursuit of the Sunshine Double.
Earlier, No. 3 seed Rybakina extended her recent dominant record against No. 5 seed Jessica Pegula to reach her third Miami Open semifinal, recovering from a slow start to advance 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 in 2 hours and 15 minutes.
World No. 2 Rybakina advances to her second semifinal of 2026, having lifted her second major crown at the Australian Open in January.
Rybakina has a 2-0 record in Miami semifinals to date, having defeated Pegula in 2023 and Victoria Azarenka in 2024; both times, she went on to lose the final, to Petra Kvitova in 2023 and Danielle Collins in 2024.
(IANS)
