Aryna Sabalenka pushes herself to 'limit' to overcome 'incredible' Emma Raducanu in gruelling Centre Court clash and reach fourth round of Wimbledon

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka kept calm to defeat Britain's Emma Raducanu in straight sets in the third round at Wimbledon in a match that showed just why she is the top seed. The pair engaged in a thrilling back-and-forth opening set before Sabalenka eventually took it in a tie-break. Raducanu then led 4-1 in the second set but Sabalenka incredibly won five consecutive games to win 6-4 and advance.

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Aryna Sabalenka defeated Emma Raducanu in a battling two-set victory to advance to the fourth round at Wimbledon.

The pair engaged in a thrilling back-and-forth first set that went all the way to a tie-break, with Sabalenka eventually coming out on top, despite trailing 4-2 at one stage.

The second set echoed the first, this time with Raducanu leading 4-1 and seemingly taking the match to a third set, but Sabalenka again had the answers and came back to win 6-4 to advance.

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"She played such incredible tennis and she pushed me really hard," Sabalenka said of her opponent.

"To get this win, I had to fight for every point like crazy.

"I'm super happy with the win, of course. I'm super happy to see her healthy and back on track. I'm pretty sure that she will be back in the top 10 soon.

"Emma was playing incredible tennis once again. She was making me move a lot, serving well and playing great tennis from the baseline.

"I was just trying to stay focused and put as many balls as I could on her side. I just tried to put all of the pressure on her."

The first set went right down to the wire, with both players breaking each other twice as Raducanu saved multiple set points to take it into a tie-break.

Aiming to win her first title at Wimbledon, Sabalenka will now face Belgian 24th seed Elise Mertens on Sunday.

World No. 1 Sabalenka had won her last 12 tie-breaks, but it was the Brit who had the first chance to end the gruelling opening set, only for the Belarusian to answer with a brilliant drop shot.

Raducanu did manage to save her seventh set point but when it came to the eighth, it proved too much and it was Sabalenka who took the 74-minute opener with another masterful stroke.

That did not seem to faze Raducanu, though, who took her first chance in the second set to go a break up and lead 3-1, before coolly holding her own serve to lead 4-1.

She had the chance to make it 5-1 and break Sabalenka’s serve for a second time in the set, but the No. 1 seed managed to just hold her own and keep the set alive.

That hold proved to be vital as Sabalenka then broke back to reduce the lead to 4-3 with her serve to come.

She raced into a 40-0 lead and with the momentum completely on her back, she came back to 4-4 to heap the pressure on Raducanu.

It was Sabalenka who took the lead with a second break to lead 5-4 and have the chance to serve for the match.

For many players, that may have added an element of pressure but she proved just why she is the top seed and held her nerve to win the second set 6-4, winning five consecutive games in the process, to take the match and advance to the fourth round.

"What an atmosphere. My ears are still hurting, honestly," said Sabalenka.

"It was super loud. Every time you were cheering her, I was trying to tell myself to just pretend that you were just cheering for me.

"I had goosebumps honestly, so thank you for the atmosphere."

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