Sabalenka survives three-hour Cincinnati struggle with Raducanu
The top seed, who won the Cincinnati final a year ago over Jessica Pegula, increased her lead at the top of the WTA Tour match-win statistics as she secured her 49th of the season.
But the struggle was real for Sabalenka, who finished with two aces in the closing stages.
"I'm happy to get through this difficult match," Sabalenka said. "I just hope tomorrow is a day off. I need time to recover from such a great battle."
Raducanu put up a huge fight, matching Sabalenka throughout.
The British number one survived a 25-minute eighth game of the final set, which went to 13 deuces, with Raducanu saving four break points before finally holding for 4-all and eventually into a tiebreaker.
But Sabalenka squeezed out victory with a sixth ace for 5-4 in the breaker and delivered her seventh on second match point to bring the battle to a close after three hours and nine minutes.
"It was all about momentum," Sabalenka said. "I took some risks at the end, went for crazy shots, went to the net.
"A risky game from me helped to put a lot of pressure on her," she said of an opponent whom she hugged warmly at the net.
Sabalenka is bidding for her 10th trophy at the 1000 level and second this season after winning at Madrid.
In other third-round results at the last major tuneup prior to the US Open, Ekaterina Alexandrova defeated Australian Maya Joint 6-4, 6-3.
Sorana Cirstea defeated Yuan Yue 6-7 (2/7), 6-4, 6-4 and will next play third seed Iga Swiatek, who got a walkover into the round of 16.
Spain's Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, a quarter-finalist this month in Montreal, made further hard court progress with a 6-4, 6-1 thrashing of American wild card Taylor Townsend.
Her next opponent will be Sabalenka on Wednesday.
In the men's draw, seventh seed Holger Rune, a semi-finalist here a year ago, won his 99th career match on cement, ending the hopes of Alex Michelsen 7-6 (7/4), 6-3.
Felix Auger-Aliassime got a win for Canada, advancing 7-6 (7/4), 4-2 when French opponent Arthur Rinderknech retired with apparent heat illness after two gruelling hours on court.
American Frances Tiafoe advanced past Ugo Humbert of France 6-4, 6-4 in 82 minutes.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
The miracle of St Louis: How Gukesh turned around losing position for 4th win in row against Fabiano Caruana
Call it the miracle of St Louis. Or call it the luck that the patron Goddess of chess, Caissa, bestows upon its world champions. In the final round of the rapid section of the St Louis Rapid and Blitz tournament, Gukesh Dommaraju pulled off a heist against tournament leader Fabiano Caruana to hand the American grandmaster his only defeat of the event so far before the tournament heads into the fast and furious two-day-long blitz section starting from Thursday. Caruana had a massively advantageous position early on in the clash against Gukesh. But the world champion not just found a way to extricate himself out of trouble, but also claim another victory, his fourth in a row over Caruana. His ability to keep on battling, no matter how hopeless the situation on the board, before converting it into a win is becoming an increasingly evident trait of Gukesh — one that has been highlighted by Magnus Carlsen as well after that headline-making defeat in Norway Chess. While Caruana heads into the blitz portion sitting on top of the standings with 14 points, Gukesh is fourth with 10 points. Gukesh had a forgettable first two days at St Louis, with two losses and two draws besides two wins. On the final day of rapid, before the Miracle of St Louis against Caruana, Gukesh also managed to take down Wesley So. 'Today could have been horrible, but turned out to be good,' said Gukesh. 'The first game was bad, the second was pretty good.' The third game was a miracle, considering how dreadful his position on board looked at one point. 'For a long time in the game, it was just about surviving,' Gukesh said on the official broadcast later on. The teenager from Chennai was in trouble early, from the 15th move itself when Caruana played 15…f4. That moment was pivotal, because it was the first time that Caruana gained an edge on the board. 'Once I allowed f4 it was just… I quickly realised it was just too bad,' Gukesh admitted on the broadcast later. Caruana's pawn sat there on the f4 square like an illegal squatter parked eye-sorishly right in front of Gukesh's castle of three pawns and two knights, behind whom the world champion had parked his king. It was only on the 42nd move, that the pawn which was making life uncomfortable for Gukesh's king was evicted by a knight. Caruana tightened his grip on the game until finally Gukesh got a free pawn on move 30 (30… Rag8). That was in fact the first time that a piece from Gukesh had ventured into Caruana's half of the board and survived to tell the tale. Meanwhile, two of Caruana's pawns and a rook had made menacing incursions into Gukesh's side of the board. 'I was quite happy to get my rook there because I was just afraid I would not get any piece above the fourth rank. And then I got my rook to the sixth rank. That was a success,' he chuckled. By the 36th move, the pressure was starting to ease. Gukesh had lost one of his rooks, but he was up two pawns and a bishop. On the 41st move, a blunder from Caruana in pushing his h file pawn ahead (41… h5), finally changed the momentum as Gukesh now held the edge. Unlike his quarry, Gukesh never relinquished his edge, ending the game with two pawns moving up the board on the cusp of promoting and a cavalcade of a rook, a bishop and the king protecting them while Caruana's rook pair tried their best to find a weak moment to ambush them. There was none. The American GM resigned on the 89th move. Caruana had famously defeated Gukesh in the final game of Norway Chess earlier this year to prevent the Indian teenager from winning the event. After that defeat, Caruana said on his C Squared Podcast: '(These Indians players are) very strong. I think that we'll be competing on more or less equal terms for a while. But I don't find them scary yet. Whatsoever!' 'When I play for example Arjun or Gukesh, I do get this feeling — not just based on this Norway Chess tournament, but on many tournaments — that I can really outplay them very significantly and get a lot of winning chances. I don't think they can outplay me in the same way. Although they will get winning chances and then it's about some other factors,' the measured Caruana had said before clarifying: 'Really this is my honest opinion. It's not me trying to play them down or anything. I'm not doing that. They can definitely outperform me in various ways. But my feeling is that if it's a long match, they're great fighters, but they also give a lot of chances and (for them) it can be very frustrating to play against someone (like me) who doesn't give many chances.' Since those comments, Gukesh and Caruana have met in four games: three at the SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz Croatia event and now once in St Louis. The Indian teenager has won all four clashes, including the game on Wednesday, when Caruana rose to become the world no 2 in rapid rankings. The results from Croatia also were eye-opening. Gukesh had his strongest rapid tournament performance in Zagreb, beating players like Magnus Carlsen, Alireza Firouzja, Praggnanandhaa, Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Caruana. But in the 18 games of blitz, Gukesh struggled. It's not a time control that suits his style. Even then, he managed to defeat Caruana in both the blitz games. Gukesh will carry the momentum from his wins over Caruana and Wesley So into the blitz section that will be his harshest test. 'It'll be a great challenge because Zagreb Rapid and Blitz didn't go well. So here it'll be a chance for me to prove myself,' he said before admitting that he was feeling the pressure that comes with being the world champion in the early part of reign. 'Initially, maybe in the first couple of tournaments, I felt this pressure of having to prove something. But then it got better. It's already been like eight months, I have played a few tournaments. I think I've just settled into this new state,' Gukesh said. 'I kind of sense that people are more motivated (to beat me). But it's none of my business. I just play my game.'
News18
2 hours ago
- News18
St. Louis Rapid And Blitz: D Gukesh Downs Fabiano Caruana And Wesley So To Climb To Fourth
Teenage Indian World champion D Gukesh climbed to the fourth place in the table at the St. Louis Rapid and Blitz as he got the better of the American duo of Wesley So and Fabiano Caruana despite his shock defeat at the hands of Leinier Dominguez Perez on Thursday. Gukesh started the day with a loss, for the third straight day, and yet managed a fourth spot, with 18 blitz games still to be played in the USD 1,75,000 prize-money tournament, which is part of the Grand Chess Tour. Caruana topped the rapid round with 14 points, despite a loss against Gukesh. Following him is Levon Aronian, now representing the USA, with 13 points. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave from France is in third place with 11 points, just one point ahead of Gukesh, who has had a mixed performance so far. Dominguez, Wesley So, and Uzbekistan's Nodirbek Abdusattorov share the fifth spot with nine points, two points ahead of Liem Le Quang from Vietnam. American Sam Shankland is ninth with five points, while Grigoriy Oparin is last with just three points. Gukesh had a promising position against Dominguez but faltered in the final stages of the middle game, allowing Dominguez to invade the seventh rank, which proved decisive. Gukesh also had a decent position with significant compensation for a pawn against Wesley So. So was unable to handle the pressure and succumbed in the penultimate round of rapid. In the final round, Caruana nearly outplayed Gukesh, but a critical oversight cost him dearly, shifting the advantage decisively in Gukesh's favour. D Gukesh (Ind) lost to Leinier Dominguez Perez (Usa); Levon Aronian (USA) beat Sam Shankland (USA); Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzb) drew with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (Fra); Grigoriy Oparin (USA) lost to Fabiano Caruana (USA); Liem Le Quang (Vie) drew with Wesley So (USA). Round 8: Wesley lost to Gukesh; Caruana beat Liem; Dominguez drew with Vachier-Lagrave; Shankland drew with Abdusattorov; Oparin lost to Wesley. Gukesh beat Caruana; Liem drew with Aronian; Abdusattorov beat Dominguez; Oparin lost to Shankland; Wesley beat Oparin. Standing after Round 9 (Rapid): 1. Caruana (14); 2. Aronian (13), 3. Vachier-Lagrave (11); 4. Gukesh (10); 5-7: Dominguez, Abdusattorov, Wesley (9 each); 8: Liem (7); 9. Shankland (5); 10. Oparin (3).
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
St. Louis Rapid and Blitz: D Gukesh recovers from early losses to claim fourth spot
World Chess Champion D Gukesh (Norway Chess via PTI Photo) World champion D Gukesh recovered from an opening loss against United States' Leinier Dominguez Perez to defeat fellow Americans Wesley So and Fabiano Caruana, finishing fourth in the rapid section of the St. Louis Rapid and Blitz, part of the Grand Chess Tour. Despite starting with a loss for the third consecutive day, Gukesh's position remains strong with 18 blitz games still remaining in the $175,000 prize-money event. Fabiano Caruana topped the rapid standings with 14 points, despite his defeat to Gukesh. He is followed by Armenian-born American Levon Aronian on 13 points, while France's Maxime Vachier-Lagrave is third with 11 points, just a point ahead of Gukesh, who has had a mixed tournament so far. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Leinier Dominguez, Wesley So, and Uzbekistan's Nodirbek Abdusattorov share fifth place with nine points, two ahead of Vietnam's Liem Le Quang. American Sam Shankland sits ninth with five points, and Grigoriy Oparin is last with three points. Gukesh lost to Dominguez after misplaying a promising middle-game position, allowing Dominguez to invade the seventh rank at a critical moment. He then bounced back by defeating Wesley So, who struggled under pressure, in the penultimate round of rapid. Against Caruana in the final round, Gukesh capitalised on a significant oversight to secure victory despite being nearly outplayed earlier. Poll Do you believe Gukesh can maintain his strong position for the rest of the tournament? Definitely Probably Unlikely Not at all Rapid round results: Round 7: Gukesh lost to Dominguez; Aronian beat Shankland; Abdusattorov drew with Vachier-Lagrave; Oparin lost to Caruana; Liem drew with Wesley. Round 8: Gukesh beat Wesley; Caruana beat Liem; Dominguez drew with Vachier-Lagrave; Shankland drew with Abdusattorov; Oparin lost to Wesley. Round 9: Gukesh beat Caruana; Liem drew with Aronian; Abdusattorov beat Dominguez; Oparin lost to Shankland; Wesley beat Oparin. Standings after Round 9 (Rapid): Caruana – 14 Aronian – 13 Vachier-Lagrave – 11 Gukesh – 10 5-7. Dominguez, Abdusattorov, Wesley – 9 each Liem – 7 Shankland – 5 Oparin – 3 Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
