Berlin Open 2026: Sabalenka vs Pegula Set After Comeback Win

Sabalenka battles heat and Bartunkova 

Sabalenka stormed back from the brink at the Berlin Open. After dropping the first set, she won five straight games to beat Bartunkova and keep her Wimbledon warm-up campaign alive.

World No.1 Sabalenka storms back from 4-0 down to beat Bartunkova in Berlin...

Aryna Sabalenka battled back from the brink to reach the Berlin semi-finals on Friday, surviving a scare against Czech qualifier Nikola Bartunkova. Jessica Pegula also advanced, beating Madison Keys to set up a last-four clash.

The world No.1 dropped the first set 2-6 but rallied to win 7-6(2), 6-4 in the heat of the German capital. The Berlin Open is the key Wimbledon warm-up on grass.

World No.62 Bartunkova came out firing, taking the first set and racing to a 4-0 lead in the second. A frustrated Sabalenka couldn’t find her serve or get any traction on return.

Facing defeat, the Belarusian flipped a switch. She reeled off five games in a row and closed out the second set in a tiebreak.

Both players wilted in the Berlin heat during the third. Sabalenka broke three times but was broken twice herself, eventually sealing it 6-4 after 2 hours 23 minutes.

“I was thinking 'wow, that's how it is to play against me',” a smiling Sabalenka said of her opponent's early dominance, adding: “I thought it was her match for sure... I was just trying to stay in the game.

“I think it was a lucky match. I somehow, miraculously, came back in that second set.”

Ranked 62nd, Bartunkova came out blazing. She grabbed the first set and jumped to 4-0 in the second while Sabalenka looked frustrated, struggling to hold serve and offering nothing on return.

On the edge of losing, the Belarusian suddenly found her rhythm. She won five games straight and forced a tiebreak, which she took to level the match.

The Berlin heat took its toll in the decider. Sabalenka managed three breaks of serve but was broken twice herself, before grinding out a 6-4 finish in 2 hours 23 minutes.

Next up for Sabalenka is world No.4 Jessica Pegula. The American got past her close friend and podcast co-host Madison Keys 7-6(5), 7-6(8) in an all-US quarter-final on Friday.