Elena Rybakina and Cori Coco Gauff qualified for the second round of the WTA 1000 China Open

Elena Rybakina and Cori Coco Gauff qualified for the second round of the WTA 1000 China Open in Beijing.

The 5th-seeded Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan) beat Qinwen Zheng (China) by 2-0 (6:1, 6:2). The match was one of the most anticipated of the first round as it pitted two top 25 players in the world, but Kazakhstani tennis player left no chance for her opponent.

In the second round, Elena Rybakina will face Tatjana Maria (Germany).

The US Open champion Cori Coco Gauff also started with a victory in Beijing. The American tennis player won by 2-0 (7:5, 6:3) with the Ekaterina Alexandrova (Russia). In the first set, Cori Coco Gauff led the game 4:0, but Ekaterina Alexandrova managed to equalize at 5:5.

However, Cori Coco Gauff managed to make another break in the 12th game, with which she closed the first part of the match.

In the second set, both tennis players won their serves almost without problems, with the only break coming in favor of Cori Coco Gauff in the sixth game.

It was the American’s 13th straight victory and she remains unbeaten since August 11, when she lost to compatriot Jessica Pegula in the quarterfinals of the tournament in Montreal.

In the match of the second round, the 12th-seeded Petra Kvitova lost by 0-2 (4:6, 5:7) to Liudmila Samsonova (Russia). For a place in the quarterfinals, Liudmila Samsonova will face the winner between Ons Jabeur (Tunisia) Marta Kostyuk (Ukraine).