In an exciting day at the WTA 1000 China Open on Sunday, Coco Gauff and Jasmine Paolini emerged victorious in the lower half of the draw, while several notable seeds faced unexpected defeats. Elena Rybakina and Veronika Kudermetova were eliminated from the tournament, and both Paula Badosa and Barbora Krejcikova had to retire due to injuries.
Defending champion and second seed Gauff faced a formidable challenge from Leylah Fernandez, the 25th seed. In a gripping match that spanned 2 hours and 46 minutes, Gauff clinched a hard-fought victory with a score of 6-4, 4-6, 7-5. The American exhibited resilience as she overcame a second-set slump and a tense final set before breaking Fernandez in the 12th game to secure her place in the next round.
Reflecting on the match, Gauff acknowledged the challenge posed by the playing conditions, stating, “The conditions were so slow, which I feel like she does well with, because she likes to take the ball so early.” She noted the difficulty in maintaining her heavy shots as the match progressed. After building a lead in the decider, Gauff struggled to serve out the match, but she ultimately held her nerve to break Fernandez and close it out.
Next up for Gauff is a clash with 15th seed Belinda Bencic, who recently battled back from a set down to defeat Australian qualifier Priscilla Hon, advancing with a scoreline of 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Meanwhile, Jasmine Paolini, the 6th seed from Italy, achieved a milestone by defeating Sofia Kenin for the first time in four encounters. Paolini dominated the match with a swift 6-3, 6-0 victory, taking just 66 minutes to advance to the Last 16. She will soon face Marie Bouzkova, who pulled off an upset over Veronika Kudermetova, winning 6-3, 7-5.
The day was not without surprises, as Elena Rybakina, the 8th seed, fell to the rising star Eva Lys in a three-set match that ended 6-3, 1-6, 6-4. Lys’s performance was a standout of the day; she expressed her excitement at reaching the fourth round for the first time, stating, “I’m just enjoying everything… I’m really happy.”
In an unfortunate turn, Krejcikova was forced to retire during her match against McCartney Kessler due to a left knee injury. Kessler was ahead when Krejcikova decided to stop playing, handing Kessler a place in the fourth round where she will face Lys.
Further into the tournament, Paula Badosa’s campaign came to an abrupt end as she retired due to a left hip injury while trailing Karolina Muchova, the 13th seed, 4-2. Muchova is set for a match against third seed Amanda Anisimova, who had a hard-time but ultimately defeated wild card Zhang Shuai with a score of 7-6(11), 6-0.
Anisimova expressed satisfaction with her performance, especially after a challenging first set that included numerous set points, before she found her rhythm in the second set. With this victory, Anisimova notched up her 150th career win at the tour level, joining a select group of players born after 2000 who have reached this milestone.
With the tournament heating up, all eyes will be on the coming rounds as players like Gauff, Paolini, and Anisimova continue their quest for the title at the China Open.
