MADRID ¨C Hailey Baptiste ended Aryna Sabalenka¡¯s title defense in Madrid on Tuesday and halted the world No. 1¡¯s 15-match winning streak with a 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (6) quarterfinal victory to deliver the biggest shock of the tournament so far.
The American saved five match points at 4-5 in the decider and a sixth in the tiebreak before she handed Sabalenka just her second defeat of the year, and her first since the Australian Open final three months ago.
Sabalenka is a three-time champion in Madrid and reached the final in the Spanish capital in each of the last three editions of the event but was unable to shake off the 30th-seeded Baptiste, who peppered her with huge serves and ultra-aggressive groundstrokes to reach a maiden WTA 1000 semifinal.
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