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Cincinnati [US], August 14 (ANI): The top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka reached one step closer to the honour of defending her Cincinnati Open title successfully, as she defeated Jessica Bouzas Maneiro on Wednesday night in their fourth-round match.

The world number one needed one hour and 20 minutes to wrap up Jessica by 6-1, 7-5 and seal a clash against Elena Rybakina.

After an easy first set, it was not easy for Sabalenka in the second one. Once leading 4-2, heading towards a straight win, Jessica bounced back to win three games on bounce to tale a 5-4 lead in the second set. She was two points away from winning the set and enforcing a decider, but Sabalenka’s late comeback ended the match.

‘Jessica is a great player,’ Sabalenka said after the match as quoted by WTA’s official website.

‘I knew coming into the night that I would have to work for every point. She did not start well at the beginning, but then she found her rhythm, and it was a really tough battle. I’m super happy to get this win in straight sets. I did not want to stay here for three hours,’ she added.

Sabalenka also became the first player to secure 50 wins on the WTA Tour this year, registering the milestone for the third successive season.

On the other hand, Rybakina, in a top-10 clash against Madison Keys, came out on top with a 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-2 win. After a loss to Keys in the Australian Open this year, Rybakina became the second top 10 player to secure three comeback wins en route to a Tier 1/WTA 1000 quarterfinal since 1990.

This is her second top 10 win of this year, after a comeback win against Paula Badosa in February at Dubai. A clash against Sabalenka will give her another chance at a win against a top 10 player.

Sabalenka leads 7-4 against Rybakina. (ANI)