World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka was beaten 2-6 6-2 7-6 (8-6) by Hailey Baptiste in a shock Madrid Open quarter-final exit.
The 30th seed recorded the biggest win of her career and her first over a top-five player, saving six match points en route to victory.
Sabalenka, a three-time Madrid champion, dominated early, forcing two service breaks to take the opening set 6-2. Baptiste struck back in the second, grabbing two breaks at the start; although Sabalenka pulled one back to make it 4-2, she dropped serve again as Baptiste levelled with a 6-2 second set.
In the decider service breaks were exchanged twice. Baptiste saved five match points on her own serve to win the 10th game, then broke for a 6-5 lead but failed to serve out the match when Sabalenka broke back to force 6-6. Sabalenka held a sixth match point at 6-5 in the tiebreak, but Baptiste won the next three points to seal the dramatic win after two hours and 32 minutes.
Baptiste will face Mirra Andreeva in the semi-finals after Andreeva defeated Leylah Fernandez 7-6 (7-1) 6-3 earlier on Tuesday.
“Incredible. Super proud of myself,” the 24-year-old said. “It was a super tight match, 7-6 in the third. Had to fight off match points; I’m really happy right now. It just shows me where my game lies. I’ve always believed it. Now I’m starting to put it into action and the world is seeing it as well.”
Defending champion Sabalenka’s defeat is the latest upset at the WTA 1000 clay tournament, which has already seen the top seven seeds eliminated.
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