Th world’s number two and top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus) recovered from a shocking first set to eventually defeat Yulia Putintseva (Kazakhstan) by 2-1 (1:6, 6:4, 6:0) to reach the quarter-finals of the WTA 1000 Wuhan Open.
The reigning champion Aryna Sabalenka now reached a 14th consecutive victory at the tournament in this Chinese city in her third appearance. She also celebrated her 35th hardcourt win of the season.
Apart from that, her quarter-final appearance is her 11th in a row at this stage of a WTA tournament. Her opponent will be Magdalena Frech (Poland), who defeated the 9th-seeded Beatriz Haddad Maia (Brazil) by 2-0 (6:3, 6:2).
Aryna Sabalenka had no win over Yulia Putintseva until today and surprisingly or not, the match started badly for her. The first set lasted only 29 minutes, and the Belarusian tennis player took her first serve. However, her opponent then took six games in a row and took an unexpectedly easy lead in the sets. Yulia Putintseva committed just three unforced errors in the first set and did not allowed a break point for her opponent. On the other hand, Aryna Sabalenka made 14 unprovoked errors.
“It looked like whatever she did in the first set was going to go her way. I fought with myself. I’m really glad that I was able to gather my concentration from the second set onwards and things worked out”, said a satisfied Aryna Sabalenka.
She then slowly began to find her rhythm in the early stages of the second set. As Yulia Putintseva hit her balls shorter and shorter, the reigning US Open champion grew in confidence. The key moment came when Aryna Sabalenka was serving at 3:4 and gave a break point to her opponent. She hit a deep first serve and converted the exit of the net into a point to erase Yulia Putintseva’s chance and continue to dominate.
Aryna Sabalenka closed the game, immediately broke and then from the first option won her serve to equalize the sets after 6:4 in the second. The third set went only in one direction and lasted 35 minutes, which meant victory for the current champion.
Meanwhile,
Qinwen Zheng (China) eliminated Leylah Fernandez (Canada) after 2-1 (5:7, 6:3, 6:0). The Chinese could have decided the match in two sets as well, but in the opening set she suffered a break on her last serve. The Canadian made five double faults and was able to convert just 61% of her first serve.
It is Qinwen Zheng’s first career quarterfinal appearance in Wuhan, and she could also become the first Chinese woman to win this tournament. Her next opponent will be the third-seeded Jasmine Paolini (Italy), who eliminated Erika Andreeva (Russia) by 2-0 (6:3, 6:2).