Aryna Sabalenka shows true colours after Emma Raducanu gesture at Cincinnati Open

Aryna Sabalenka showed her true colours with a classy message to Emma Raducanu after beating her at the Cincinnati Open. The pair were involved in a titanic battle for more than three hours but it was Sabalenka who edged a narrow victory. She prevailed in a third-set tiebreak to deny Raducanu, who fought hard throughout but came up just short.

The match took place only a few weeks after Sabalenka downed Raducanu in a closely-fought affair at Wimbledon. It was much closer this time around, with the Belarusian claiming a hard-fought 7-6(3) 4-6 7-6(5) victory. After the final point, the two players hugged at the net in a sporting gesture before Sabalenka lavished praise on her British rival.

"I'm really happy to see her healthy, mentally and physically," said the 27-year-old in her post-match interview. "Oh my God, like, every time she is improving. She is getting back and I'm happy to see her fighting.

"She's such an incredible player, really nice person. Super happy for her and of course super happy to get through this difficult match. I really hope tomorrow is a day off, otherwise I won't be able to recover after such a great battle."

Sabalenka explained that she took a daring approach towards the end of the match, with her bravery paying dividends in the final-set tiebreak.

"It was all about the momentum, the risk in this game," she added. "At the end I went for crazy shots at important points. It was a little bit risky from me and it helped to put a lot of pressure on her."

Raducanu, meanwhile, was unfortunate to fall short in her first match under the guidance of new coach Francisco Roig. He was unusually vocal at times, leading to Raducanu being told off by the umpire for breaking the rules.

During a changeover, she walked towards Roig for a quick chat and was given a dressing-down by the umpire, who told her that she was not allowed to approach her mentor.

"Emma, you cannot actively approach him and he cannot leave his position," said the official. "You know that. You cannot have a conversation."

"I can't hear anything because the music is really loud," replied Raducanu, but the umpire was having none of it. She fired back: "Then he needs to speak louder but you cannot actively approach him, he cannot leave the position.

"He needs to stay where he is and you cannot actively go towards him. You cannot actively go, at the end of a game especially."

Raducanu quickly apologised for her actions, saying: "Okay, sorry, I didn't know that. Can you tell someone to tell him? I can't say it like now."

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