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Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka battled hard yesterday to support her unbeaten grounds successful Wuhan, coming from down to decision Slovakia’s Rebecca Sramkova 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.
The satellite No. 1 started dilatory successful her archetypal lucifer since clinching a 4th Grand Slam rubric astatine the US Open past month. However, the Belarusian recovered her powerfulness crippled successful the last acceptable to scope the Wuhan Open past 16, wherever she volition look 16th-seeded Russian Liudmila Samsonova.
Sabalenka is chasing a 4th consecutive crown successful Wuhan, wherever she boasts a cleanable 18-0 win-loss record. The archetypal 3 games went against serve, but it was Sramkova who consolidated for 3-1, claiming the opening acceptable successful 35 minutes with 15 winners.
Sabalenka responded to level the lucifer and swept done the decider to triumph successful conscionable nether 2 hours. “She played unthinkable tennis, particularly successful the archetypal set. There wasn’t overmuch I could bash against her,” Sabalenka remarked. “I knew aft that small interruption it wouldn’t beryllium casual to get backmost into my rhythm. But I’m truly gladsome that successful the 2nd acceptable I recovered my game, I stepped in, and I deliberation I played truly well.”
Third effect Coco Gauff, a semi-finalist successful Wuhan past year, booked her spot successful the past 16 with a creaseless 6-1, 6-0 show against Japanese qualifier Moyuka Uchijima. Gauff was flawless passim a 51-minute victory, marking her 18th triumph connected Chinese ungraded since 2023—the astir astatine WTA level by immoderate subordinate successful China during that period. Gauff volition look Chinese wildcard Zhang Shuai for a spot successful the quarter-finals.
In contrast, satellite No. 6 Jessica Pegula survived a “wild ride,” needing 7 lucifer points and astir 3 hours to flooded chap American Hailey Baptiste 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (8/6). Pegula served for the triumph twice, astatine 5-2 and 5-4 successful the 3rd set, but Baptiste fought back, redeeming 5 lucifer points and taking 4 games successful a enactment to pb 6-5.
Pegula steadied herself to unit a tiebreak and yet wrapped up the triumph connected her seventh lucifer point. “It’s been brutal,” said Pegula, who volition look Russian ninth effect Ekaterina Alexandrova successful the 3rd round. “Match points came and went, and I deliberation I conscionable got a small tentative. And that’s each it takes sometimes for idiosyncratic to travel back. I’m truly arrogant of however I held it unneurotic due to the fact that I could easy person collapsed. But I held tough; that was a chaotic ride.”
Heat again played a origin arsenic 12th-seeded Karolina Muchova joined the likes of Emma Raducanu, Jelena Ostapenko, and Dayana Yastremska connected the database of mid-match retirees successful Wuhan. With temperatures soaring supra 30°C, Muchova struggled with the vigor and had her vitals checked connected tribunal earlier retiring portion trailing Magdalena Frech 7-6 (7/1), 4-1.
English (US) ·