Top seed Aryna Sabalenka maintained her unbeaten record at the Dongfeng Fuyah · Wuhan Open on Wednesday, while also notching a landmark win.
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Two-time defending champion Sabalenka opened her campaign in Wuhan with a 6-4, 6-4 second-round win over 37th seed Katerina Siniakova.
After her farewell in the first round, Sabalenka regained her winning ways by knocking out Siniakova, ranked first in the world in women’s doubles, in an hour and 34 minutes of play.
“I am happy to be back in Wuhan,” Sabalenka said after her victory. “Siniakova, who fights for every point, it’s really good that I can finish this match in two sets,” she added.
Posting big numbers: World No. 2 Sabalenka is now 13-0 in Wuhan throughout her career. She won the title in her first appearance in 2018, then defended her title in 2019 before the tournament took a five-year hiatus from the calendar.
“I missed Wuhan so much,” Sabalenka said. “I have really good memories of winning the title twice here. Wuhan brings me a lot of great memories and good feelings.”
Sabalenka also achieved her 50th win on tour this year by defeating Siniakova. Sabalenka trails only Iga Swiatek in the number of matches won at tour level this year, and is close behind top-ranked Swiatek in their clash for year-end world No. 1 in the PIF WTA Singles Rankings.
“I love having this competition and I love seeing it [Swiatek] “In the draw. I would love to get to the finals and play her in the finals. They are always great fights. I always enjoy the fights against her,” Sabalenka said.
“Hopefully we can play against each other there in [WTA Finals Riyadh]put him in the fight for world No. 1. This is perfect. I’m trying to focus on myself and make sure I give my best and make sure I still have that chance to become world No. 1 at the end of the year.
Sabalenka, the Australian Open and US Open champion this year, hopes to start a new string of victories as the season approaches its end. Her 15-game winning streak was halted by Karolina Muchova in the quarter-finals in Beijing last week.
Putintseva’s next match: Sabalenka will face No. 35 seed Yulia Putintseva in the round of 16, who beat No. 15 seed Donna Vekic 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 earlier on Wednesday.
Sabalenka and Putintseva have faced off only once before, with Putintseva winning that match in straight sets at the 2019 US Open.
Match moments: Sabalenka squandered a 4-2 lead in the first set on Wednesday, only for Siniakova to return serve in the next game. However, Sabalenka took two set points at 5-4, and Siniakova committed her second double fault of the set to concede the lead to the defending champion.
Strong forehand strikes gave Sabalenka a quick 2-0 lead in the second set, but she made two mistakes in this lead, and Siniakova once again maintained the rhythm of the first seed throughout the set. However, at 5-4, Sabalenka found some of her strongest comebacks to claim two match points.
On the second match point, Sabalenka finished off the win with a backhand winner, her 21st win of the day compared to 14 for Siniakova. Sabalenka also used four of her 12 break points, while Siniakova took 2 for 8.
