Madrid [Spain], May 2 : The No.2 seeded Aryna Sabalenka produced a fine comeback to overcome a surging Mayar Sherif 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 to reach the semifinals of the ongoing Madrid Open.
Australian Open champion Sabalenka trailed the unseeded Sherif by a set and a break. She will next face either No.9 seed Maria Sakkari or No.31 seed Irina-Camelia Begu.
Sherif, who practises in Elche in southeast Spain and has been backed by supporters of her club during her Madrid campaign, revealed in a perfect first set that she is completely at home on these clay courts.
The 26-year-old hit ten winners, ranging from exquisite drop drops to powerful forehands, while making only two unforced errors. Sabalenka struggled with her big, high-bouncing rally forehand, with 16 unforced errors, 12 of which were on the forehand side. Sabalenka's situation was not helped by four double faults, three of which came in the first game on her way to losing serve.
The critical sequence of the match was the first five games of the second set. Sabalenka was plagued by ill-timed double faults and netted overheads, so Sherif went up a break twice. But Sabalenka came back twice, triumphing in a series of superb all-court exchanges. At 2-2, the World No.2 averted a breakpoint and secured the first hold of the set with her own drop shot - and the rest was history.
Sabalenka was in high gear as she rushed through ten straight games, pausing to find her rhythm on Sherif's strokes rather than attempting to take them on the rise. Sabalenka, who can still generate incredible power from further back, totalled 27 winners to 37 unforced errors. She was particularly impressive in regaining control of her serve: after serving eight double faults at 2-2 in the second set, she served no more for the rest of the match.
Earlier in the day, World No.1 Iga Swiatek broke new ground at the Mutua Madrid Open as she advanced into the quarterfinals of the event for the first time with a gritty 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-3 victory over No.16 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova.
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