Sabalenka rallies from the brink to book Pegula showdown in Berlin semis

Aryna Sabalenka was up against it Friday, with 20-year-old Nikola Bartunkova pushing her to the brink through a set and a half. But the World No. 1 stormed back from 6-2, 4-0 down to win 2-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4 in 2 hours and 23 minutes and reach the Berlin semifinals for the second straight year.

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It’s her third win this season from a set down, following comebacks against Elena Rybakina in the Indian Wells final and Naomi Osaka in the Madrid Round of 16, though neither required her to climb out of a deficit as steep as the one she faced Friday.

Her semifinal opponent will be No. 3 seed Jessica Pegula, who won the fifth edition of her rivalry with Madison Keys 7-6 (5), 7-6 (8) in 1 hour and 46 minutes earlier in the day to reach her fifth semifinal of 2026 at the Vanda Pharmaceuticals Berlin Tennis Open.

Sabalenka 'lucky' to escape 'future superstar' in Bartunkova

From the start of the match, Sabalenka struggled to find solutions for Bartunkova's trademark variety. Behind well-disguised slices and well-timed drop shots, the young Czech seized control midway through the second set.

But down 6-2, 4-0 and staring at a devastating loss, something clicked for Sabalenka. A shift in technique -- and perhaps a bit of luck -- helped her turn the match around.

"I think when I (made) a couple approaches to the net on my serve in that 4-0 game, it gave me a little bit of confidence that maybe I can show her that I still have something left," Sabalenka said in her on-court interview. "I don't know, I was just trying to stay in the game. I tried to find the rhythm, and I honestly think it was just a lucky match. I miraculously came back in the second set and then of course, I got some confidence that I can win this one."

Sabalenka won eight of the next 10 games. In that stretch, she saved a break point that would have given Bartunkova a 5-2 lead in the second set, a point the Czech seemed poised to win with another drop shots, only to leave it just short. Sabalenka then forced a decider by winning the last six points of the tiebreak.

The run continued into the third set, where she broke in the opening game and held to love for a 2-0 lead. Bartunkova, to her credit, refused to lie down and let Sabalenka have it. She fought back from a break down twice and eventually led 4-3, again move within two games of victory. But Sabalenka had the final answers. A sensational forehand winner set up a chance to serve for the match at 5-4, and another forehand sealed her place in the semifinals.

Afterward, Sabalenka had nothing but praise for Bartunkova, who entered the week ranked No. 62.

"She played incredible tennis, not much I could do. She was just smacking the ball; it was unbelievable level and honestly, I felt like it was her match" Sabalenka said. "Oh my god, what a player. What an incredible young girl, and a future superstar for sure."

Sabalenka now turns her attention to Pegula, whom she leads 9-3 at the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz level. She won their most recent meeting in three sets at the WTA Finals last November.

Pegula edges Keys in two tiebreaks to reach Berlin semis

The compatriots, friends and podcast co-hosts came into the match with their head-to-head tied at 2-2, and for most of their first meeting on grass there was nothing to choose between them -- indeed, Keys won more points overall, 86 to Pegula's 83. But tennis matches are decided by the importance rather than the quantity of points won, and that's where Pegula had the edge.

Keys found her stride with blistering power to break first for 3-1 -- but up 4-2, lapsed into error to lose her advantage. By contrast, Pegula was quick to seize her first set point opportunity in the tiebreak, nailing a return winner to steal the set.

The dynamic was reversed in the second set -- Pegula, utilizing greater variety on court, led 4-2, only for Keys to peg her back and force another tiebreak. Pegula found some spectacular shots -- a forehand pass on the run and a perfect lob -- to edge ahead, and withstood Keys unleashing on return to save two match points to convert her fourth.

The precision of Pegula's shot-making belies a rather more blasé approach, she revealed in her on-court interview.

"Sometimes on grass I'm not really aiming," she admitted. "It just goes wherever it wants to go. I think sometimes when you overthink and you try to aim too much, the grass can really kind of play you, and you lose control of the ball. So I just try to commit to hitting in the vicinity of the court. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad."

So far in Berlin, it's been good -- and Pegula will have a chance to keep that going in the semifinals against Sabalenka.