Wuhan (AFP)
Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, ranked second in the world, and American Coco Gauff (fourth) are engaged in a heavy-caliber confrontation in the semi-finals of the Chinese Wuhan 1000-point tennis tournament, after the first won over Polish Magdalena Frikh 6-2, 6-2, and the second over the latter’s compatriot Magda Lynette 6-6. -0 and 6-4.
The match in the semi-finals will bring together two players who are giving their best this year, as Sabalenka (26 years old) won the Australian and United States championships, while the 20-year-old young woman, Gauff, achieved a series of 9 victories in a row.
The two players faced off seven times previously, with the American prevailing with 4 victories versus three defeats.
Sabalenka, who won the title in Wuhan in the last two editions in 2018 and 2019, before the tournament was stopped due to the repercussions of the Corona virus for four years in a row and was held again this year, did not find any difficulty in defeating Freikh in the quarter-finals, unlike her previous match against the Kazakh woman of Russian origin, Yulia. Putintseva dominated the first set 6-1, before the Belarusian turned the tables and emerged victorious.
Sabalenka exhausted her Polish opponent with powerful strikes, achieving her fifteenth victory in Wuhan.
“I think the main thing is, again, focusing on myself, focusing on my footwork, getting to the net, and finishing the point there,” said Sabalenka, who last faced Gauff in the Australian Open semi-finals in January.
She continued, “On this slow surface, you have to go to the net. You have to be brave enough and finish the point there. I think this is the main plan. It worked well in our last meeting, so I will stick to the plan. I will try to put as much pressure on it as possible.” ».
On the other hand, Gauff seemed invincible on her serve against Lynette, and she won the first set, without losing any game, only to break the serve again in the second and decide it in her favor, so the match.
In turn, Chinese Chen Yu Wang, who won the silver medal in the mixed doubles category at the Paris Olympics, reached the semi-finals, where her Chinese compatriot Geng Chenwen, who won Olympic gold in singles, or Italian Jazmine Paolini, third runner-up at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, awaits.
Wang fought in the first quarter-final of her career for two hours and 50 minutes, overturning her loss in the first set and falling behind in the decisive third 3-5, as she saved two match points, to a well-deserved victory over Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova 4-6, 7-5, 7-6.
Wang, 23, said: “I am very happy because I reached the semi-finals for the first time in China. It is a very special feeling for me, playing in front of my country’s fans. I enjoyed it.”
She continued, “It was a very difficult match. We did our best. I think it all boiled down to a few points, especially in the tiebreaker.”
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