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Aryna Sabalenka was left with egg on her face after prematurely celebrating reaching the US Open final, not realising the tiebreaker rules in New York during her match with home favourite Madison Keys. The Belarussian made a stunning comeback to defeat her American opponent 0-6, 7-6(1), 7-6(5), but celebrated twice after being forced to halt on the first attempt.
The soon-to-be world No 1 had been on the verge of completely turning around the match in a third-set tiebreak, as she dropped her racket and thought that she had won when Keys’ forehand found the net at 6-3.
She went over to her box to celebrate, only to be humbled when reminded that deciding US Open tiebreakers go to 10 points as opposed to seven – she still had three more points to win.
Sabalenka did return to the match swiftly after a conversation with her team, before finally putting Keys away to set up a final with another American star in teenager Coco Gauff – who defeated Karolina Muchova after a lengthy delay due to climate protesters storming the court.
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After Sabalenka’s victory, she was asked about the embarrassing moment when she forgot the tournament’s rules. “Actually I thought that we play tiebreak up to seven,” she admitted. “I don’t know! I was just all over the place, it was crazy. Thanks team for reminding me that it’s actually up to 10.
“It was crazy. I was all over the place. I was just, like, what can I do? She’s playing unbelievable, just crushing everything. I’m not able to do anything, I had zero control in the match. You just have to keep trying, keep staying there, and keep pushing it. Maybe you’ll be able to turn around this game. Lucky me, somehow magically, I don’t know how I was able to turn around this game.”
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It could have been a difficult situation to walk back into, having gone from being locked into the match to sudden jubilation, then forced back and switching gears mentally to claim three more points against a very capable opponent. When quizzed about her reaction, Sabalenka admitted that she was expecting to lose after being told to stop celebrating.
“Honestly, I was thinking that if I’m going to lose this semi-final,” she said. “I’ll be struggling with sleep for I don’t know how many days! And I was just, like, I don’t want this to happen. I need some sleep, and I need to be fine.
“I was just, like, come on, keep trying, keep pushing. I don’t know, do something extra. Just try to turn around this match. I think this kind of thinking really helped me to stay in the game and to keep trying, keep pushing, to still have this belief that I have a chance to turn around this match.”
US Open tennis makes its long-awaited return to Sky Sports and it’s certainly not something to be missed.
Sky Sports subscribers on Sky Glass, Sky Stream, Sky Q, and the Sky Sports app will be able to watch all courts for the first time on Sky Sports.
Want to watch the US Open Tennis but don’t own Sky?
Never fear as you can get Sky Glass, Sky TV, Netflix for £14 a month for six months – thanks to a limited time deal.
You can also get six months Sky Sports completely free.
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