No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka advances to third round in Cincinnati with ease
Top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka needed just 54 minutes to rout China’s Wang Xinyu 6-1, 6-3 on Tuesday, coasting into the third round of the Cincinnati Open. It was a dominant showing on all fronts for the Belarusian, who won 93.3% of her second-serve points and 80% of her second-return points. She lost just six points on her serve in eight games and didn’t face a single break point. “She’s a tough…
Top-seeded Belarusian tennis star Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the third round of the Cincinnati Open on Tuesday, completing a routine 6-1, 6-3 victory over China’s Wang Xinyu in just 54 minutes. The win marked Sabalenka’s 50th ATP Masters 1000 event triumph and secured her place as the World No. 1 player. She dominated the match with 93.3% second-serve points and 80% second-return points, losing only six points on serve and not facing any break points.
Sabalenka commented, "I really trusted myself, I was going for my shots without overthinking, and I think that was the weapon of tonight’s match."
In the quarterfinal round, Sabalenka will face Czech player Sara Bejlek, who put up a strong fight, overcoming No. 16 Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova with an upset 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 result. Bejlek improved her service point win rate to 73.9% in the second and third sets and saved a break point.
American star Coco Gauff maintained her winning streak, defeating fellow American Ann Li 6-1, 7-6 (3). Gauff rallied from 5-3 to force a tiebreaker in the second set and cruised to victory from there. She praised the challenge posed by Li, saying, "Ann’s not an easy opponent to play. She has a lot of variety in her game so I’m happy to get through."
Fourth-seeded Russian Mirra Andreeva and Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk also secured their spots in the quarterfinals with straight-set victories. Andreeva beat Indonesia’s Janice Tjen 6-1, 7-6 (5), while Kostyuk swept U.S. player Sloane Stephens 7-5, 7-5.
Meanwhile, American Madison Keys and Czech Katerina Siniakova advanced in their matches, with Keys winning 6-1, 6-3 in 78 minutes and advancing to face Wang Xinyu. Wang Xinyu, meanwhile, had already qualified for the third round through a walkover due to the withdrawal of Elina Svitolina of Ukraine due to an ankle injury. In the final match of the day, No. 22 Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic edged out No. 13 Iva Jovic 7-6 (0), 7-6 (5) in an unexpectedly defensive encounter.
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