Karolina Muchova (n.49) defeated Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka this Fridaythe first seed in the China Open, by 7-6(5), 2-6 and 6-4, enters the semifinals of the Chinese tournament after eliminating the main favorite.
The match, played on the Diamond center court of the Beijing tennis complex, lasted two hours and 46 minutes and ended Sabalenka’s 15-match winning streak, following her Cincinnati and United States Open titles.
In the first set, both players maintained an even level.
Sabalenka started strong on her servebut Muchova took advantage of her greater effectiveness on serve to win the set in a tie break 7-6(5).
The aggressiveness of the two players was evident in the final point of the tiebreakeras both stepped up to the net to find victory in the first round.
In the second set, Sabalenka rose again, showing herself to be dominant by earning two breaks, the last with a scream of rage that drew admiration from almost the entire center court stand.
In a solid command of his points winning the first serve and not facing break points, he closed out the set at 6-2, tying the match.
The final set began when Sabalenka broke Muchova’s servebut the Czech responded quickly and, after several exchanges of breaks, won 6-4.
Muchova was more effective in key moments, saving several break points and taking her chances to close out the match.
The Czech tennis player, who reached her second semifinal of a WTA 1000 tournament after Cincinnati in 2023, where she was runner-up, He will face China’s Zheng Qinwen in the penultimate roundfifth seed, defeating Russian Mirra Andreeva (n.22) 5-7, 6-0 and 6-4.
The world number 7 and top local favorite needed two hours and 32 minutes to defeat young Andreeva, the 17-year-old student of Spanish Conchita Martínez, on Diamond center court, in a match that kept the public on their fingers. chair
The local racket had to come back from the first set where Andreeva dominated initially had four consecutive games, achieving two breaks.
However, the Olympic champion regained his rhythm and, despite a series of six double faults, he managed to tie and take a slight lead, causing the Russian to lose hope, as he threw his racket in his bank
Despite this, Andreeva pulled herself together and finally closed the set 7-5.
The second part is a monologue by Zhengwho was superior on his serve and did not concede a single game, closing with a resounding 6-0.
The final set was more balanced, with the Russian starting strong, leading 2-0 and 4-2, but Zheng again showed her resilience, leveling the score and taking the lead to close out the match 6-4.
Despite the Russian’s best efforts, Zheng managed three crucial breaks in this set, securing his place in the semi-finals.
The other semifinal, which will take place this Saturday at 9 am, will pit Paula Badosa (no. 19) against American Coco Gauff, fourth seed.
The current champion and world number one, Iga Swiatek of Poland, is not participating in this year’s edition of the tournament.
Source: La Verdad
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