Sabalenka saves four match points to overcome Rybakina in Berlin

Aryna Sabalenka pulled off a small miracle in the quarterfinals of the WTA 500 in Berlin against Elena Rybakina.

The matchup looked promising, with a 6 to 5 advantage in confrontations for Sabalenka and eight meetings having gone to three sets. The day's clash on the German grass did not break from the norm, with the world No. 1 erasing a break deficit in the first set to take the lead in the tiebreak, before losing the second set after conceding three breaks.

Sabalenka served for the match at 5-4 in the third set before losing her serve, and everything once again came down to the deciding game. Rybakina, who hit 14 aces in this match, seemed to have control to win by leading 6-2 with four match points in hand.

With her back to the wall, Sabalenka managed to win six consecutive points to ultimately take this tiebreak 8-6 and win this quarterfinal with a score of 7-6, 3-6, 7-6 in 2 hours and 42 minutes. In the semifinals tomorrow, she will face Marketa Vondrousova, the 2023 Wimbledon champion.