Aryna Sabalenka had a classy message for Emma Raducanu after overcoming the Brit in the Cincinnati Open.
The world No.1 beat the former US Open champion 7-6, 4-6, 7-6 in a tense encounter on Monday evening.
The match came just a few weeks after the pair met at Wimbledon with the same outcome.
That was another close encounter with Raducanu starting to show signs of her previous best.
Since winning the US Open in 2021, Raducanu’s career has been hit by injuries and struggles with coaches.
But finally, the Brit is back to competing at the top.
And Sabalenka had some lovely words for Raducanu after their contest.
She said: “I’m really happy to see her healthy, mentally and physically.
“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 had to totally change the way she played to ensure she beat Raducanu.
Later in the interview, the Belarusian said: “It was all about the momentum, the risk in this game.
“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 warned
The match was disrupted when Raducanu was handed a warning when she and her coach Francis Roig left their posts to talk through a point.
But once the Brit returned, the umpire said: “Emma, you can’t actively approach him and he can’t leave his position, you know that? You cannot have a conversation.”
She responded: “Emma, you can’t actively approach him and he can’t leave his position, you know that? You cannot have a conversation.”
Before umpire Miriam Bley said: “Then he needs to speak louder. You cannot actively approach him and he cannot leave his position, he needs to stay where he is and you cannot actively go towards him.
“What you’ve done with the ball is fine, but you cannot actively go at the end of a game especially.”
Raducanu then admitted she was unaware of the rule, replying: “Sorry I didn’t know.
“Can you ask someone to tell him? I can’t say it now.”
And after the match, Raducanu had praise for Sabalenka as well.
“She’s world No 1 for a reason.
“I pushed her more than I did at Wimbledon, so that’s that’s an improvement.
“Also, it was good to have this result on a hard court because it’s very different to grass, and I’ve always thought grass suits me a lot more – and I still believe that.
“So to have pushed her on a hard court like that, I’m pretty proud.”
US Open preparation
The defeat in Cincinnati means Raducanu will not be seeded for the US Open.
She is 34th in the current live rankings, with only the top 32 seeded at Flushing Meadow.
The US Open singles tournament is slated to begin on Sunday, August 24.