MADRID (AP) — Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka faced tough resistance in her opening match at the Madrid Open before beating Magda Linette 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 on Friday. The second-ranked Sabalenka struggled with her serve at times, but the two-time Australian Open winner struck her 10th ace on match point at the Caja Magica in Spain’s capital. Sabalenka got some help from the net to get a key break and go up 5-3 in the third set when Linette was unable to reach a shot by the Belarusian that clipped the top of the tape. Top-ranked Iga Swiatek won her opening match on Thursday. Sabalenka beat Swiatek in last year’s final in Madrid and also won here in 2021. Fourth-seeded Elena Rybakina beat Lucia Bronzetti 6-4, 6-3, while American Ashlyn Krueger downed Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-3, 6-3. Mirra Andreeva, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Carolina Garcia, and Jasmine Paolini also advanced. |
Bill Tobin, a longtime NFL executive who helped build the 1985 Bears championship team, has diedCanucks' Rick Tocchet among new coaches making an impact in leading teams to NHL playoffsThird person dies after a Connecticut fire that also killed a baby and has been labeled a crime'Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare' review: Guy Ritchie amps up WWII heistIowa lawmakers approve bill just in time to increase compensation for Boy Scout abuse victimsThe EPA is again allowing summer sales of higher ethanol gasoline blend, citing global conflictsNHL PLAYOFFS: West best Dallas vs. defending champion Vegas headlines 1stWe meet again: Hurricanes and Islanders reunite to open NHL playoffs for 2nd straight yearAn Alabama prison warden is arrested on drug chargesDominican prosecutors arrest soldier accused of raping a 14