Top-ranked Simona Halep needed only eight points to complete a gritty comeback that was put on hold overnight by rain, beating qualifier Ajla Tomljanovic 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 at the Western & Southern Open on Thursday afternoon.
Rain resulted in three matches suspended overnight. Halep had overcome an injury and staged a third-set rally when the storm arrived.
She appeared to aggravate her lower back on a 105 mph serve Wednesday and took a medical timeout after dropping the first three games of the final set. She then ran off four straight games for a 4-3 lead when rain arrived.
An atendee shelters from the rain at center court during a delay at the Western & Southern Open tennis tournament, Thursday, Aug. 16, 2018, in Mason, Ohio. (AP PhotoJohn Minchillo)
She finished it off in 5 minutes Thursday afternoon. Halep will face Ashleigh Barty in the last match on Thursday night.
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SAN DIEGO (AP) — Cincinnati Reds center fielder Stuart Fairchild made a sensational leaping catch to rob Manny Machado of a three-run homer in the first inning of Wednesday's series finale against the San Diego Padres.
After Spencer Steer homered for the Reds with two outs in the first, it looked as if the Padres would surge ahead on Machado’s drive to right-center off Graham Ashcraft. But Fairchild tracked down the ball, leaped to make the catch and slammed into the low fence, with his cap flying off. He regained his balance and threw the ball in to hold the runners at second and first.
Ashcraft turned and raised his right index finger toward Fairchild as some Padres looked on in disbelief from the dugout.
The catch was reminiscent of the one San Diego native Adam Jones made to rob Machado of a home run in the 2017 World Baseball Classic at Petco Park. Then teammates with the Baltimore Orioles, Jones was playing for the United States and Machado was playing for the Dominican Republic.
Machado hit a three-run double in a 6-4 win Tuesday night that snapped a five-game losing streak.
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Cincinnati Reds center fielder Stuart Fairchild slams into the wall after making a leaping catch for the out on San Diego Padres' Manny Machado during the first inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Cincinnati Reds center fielder Stuart Fairchild makes a leaping catch over the wall for the out on San Diego Padres' Manny Machado during the first inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
