Sabalenka Outlasts Noskova in Final-Set Tiebreak to Reach US Open Semifinals

Aryna Sabalenka reached the US Open semifinals after surviving a three-set challenge from Linda Noskova at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Tuesday. The two-time defending champion won 7-6(1), 3-6, 7-6(7), according to the tournament's official website, overcoming the reigning Wimbledon champion in a quarterfinal that lasted two hours and 22 minutes.

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The opening set stayed on serve through 12 games before Sabalenka took control of the tiebreak, conceding only one point. Noskova responded in the second set, winning it 6-3 to force a decider. The result meant the contest between the top seed and sixth seed would be settled by a final-set match tiebreak rather than by a conventional closing game.

Noskova created the more favorable position early in the third set and moved ahead 4-2. Field Level Media reported that Sabalenka then recovered the break and extended the contest to the deciding tiebreak. The players remained close deep into that sequence, with Guardian live coverage recording Sabalenka moving ahead 8-7 and then earning match point at 9-7 before completing the victory.

The result continues Sabalenka's pursuit of a third consecutive US Open women's singles title. USOpen.org identified her as the two-time defending champion, while Noskova arrived in New York having won her first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in July. Their quarterfinal therefore matched the winner of the season's grass-court major against the player who has controlled the previous two editions in New York.

Noskova's run ended after her first US Open quarterfinal. She had already been pushed through three sets by Ann Li in the third round and Marta Kostyuk in the fourth, according to USOpen.org. Against Sabalenka, she became the first player in the tournament to take a set from the defending champion, but the third-set advantage did not hold.

Sabalenka advanced after a match in which the decisive margins came in tiebreaks: she dominated the first and edged the longer one at the finish. BBC Sport reported that she believed her title defense was close to ending before the comeback. The confirmed result puts her two victories from another championship while leaving her semifinal opponent to be determined by the remaining draw.