WUHAN, China: Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka battled hard Wednesday to keep her unbeaten record in Wuhan intact, having to come from behind to beat Slovakia’s Rebecca Sramkova 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.
The world number one started slowly in her first match since she clinched a fourth Grand Slam title at the US Open last month.
But the Belarusian found her power game in the final set to reach the Wuhan Open last 16, where she will face the 16th-seeded Russian Liudmila Samsonova.
Sabalenka is chasing a fourth consecutive crown in Wuhan where she has a perfect 18-0 win-loss record.
The first three games went against serve but it was Sramkova who consolidated for 3-1, and it was all she needed to grab the opening set in 35 minutes, firing 15 winners.
Sabalenka hit back to level and swept through the decider to win in just under two hours.
“She played incredible tennis, especially in the first set. There wasn’t much I could do against her,” said Sabalenka.
“I knew after that little break, it will be not that easy to get back in my rhythm.
“But I’m really glad that in the second set I found my game, I stepped in, and I think I played really great.”
Gauff cruise
Third seed Coco Gauff, a semifinalist in Wuhan last year, booked her place in the last 16 with a smooth 6-1, 6-0 performance against Japanese qualifier Moyuka Uchijima.
Gauff was flawless throughout a 51-minute victory that was her 18th on Chinese soil since 2023, the most at WTA level by any player in China during that period.
Gauff will square off with Chinese wildcard Zhang Shuai for a place in the quarter-finals.
In contrast, world number six Jessica Pegula survived a “wild ride,” needing seven match points and almost three hours to overcome fellow American Hailey Baptiste 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (8/6).
Pegula served for the win twice, at 5-2 and 5-4 in the third set, but Baptiste dug deep to save five match points and took four games in a row for a 6-5 advantage.
Pegula steadied the ship to force a tiebreak and she finally wrapped up the victory on her seventh match point.
“It’s been brutal,” said Pegula, who will face Russian ninth seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the third round.
“Match points, then she started playing well, I think I just got a little tentative,” admitted Pegula.
“And that’s all it takes sometimes for someone to come back.
“I’m really proud of myself for how I held it together because I think I easily could have just collapsed. But I held tough, so yeah, that was a wild ride.”
Heat again played a factor as 12th-seeded Karolina Muchova joined the likes of Emma Raducanu, Jelena Ostapenko and Dayana Yastremska on the list of mid-match retirees in Wuhan.
With temperatures soaring above 30°C, Muchova struggled with the heat and had her vitals checked on court before she retired while trailing Magdalena Frech 7-6 (7/1), 4-1.
Sabalenka battles to keep Wuhan record alive, Pegula survives marathon
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Sabalenka battles to keep Wuhan record alive, Pegula survives marathon
- The world number one started slowly in her first match since she clinched a fourth Grand Slam title at the US Open last month
Alonso fears more pain in China with struggling Aston Martin
- Fernando Alonso said Thursday he expects another difficult weekend wrestling with his new Aston Martin at the Chinese Grand Prix after failing to finish the season-opener in Australia
SHANGHAI: Fernando Alonso said Thursday he expects another difficult weekend wrestling with his new Aston Martin at the Chinese Grand Prix after failing to finish the season-opener in Australia.
Silverstone-based Aston Martin endured a horror start after serious issues with their Honda power unit and a lack of spare parts.
Two-time world champion Alonso and teammate Lance Stroll had to endure extreme vibration in the chassis caused by the power unit, which was feared could cause the drivers permanent nerve damage.
“The situation unfortunately didn’t change within four or five days since Melbourne, so it will be a difficult weekend,” Alonso told reporters at the Shanghai International Circuit.
“We’ll limit the laps in one or two sessions as we are short on parts. We need laps, to find the window on the chassis side.
“I’ll be happy if we leave China with a more or less normal practice, more or less normal qualifying.”
The Spaniard could not put a timeframe on when improvements might come.
“What can I do within the team? Work harder, help Honda as much as I can,” said Alonso.
“We can allocate resources to help Honda with the power unit. We are one team, it is a bumpy start that I hope won’t last too long.
“We are pushing, we have very talented people in the team, so I hope within a couple of grands prix, we can have a normal weekend.
“To be competitive will take more time. Once we fix the reliability, we will be behind on power and things.”
The 44-year-old veteran has been in Formula One for more than two decades and has driven vastly different iterations of cars from the old V10 petrol engines through to the current complex hybrid configuration.
Despite the issues he said was embracing the challenge of the new cars enthusiastically in what could be his final season on the grid.
His Aston Martin contract expires at the end of 2026.
“Do we enjoy driving these cars? Yes, because we love racing,” Alonso said.
“I do four or five 24-hour races because I love racing and I love driving. So if you jump into an F1 car, you enjoy going fast.
“But it is a challenge, a different challenge.
“I was super lucky to race in (the last) era and I feel lucky to race in both.”
