Ann Li’s stunning win over Aryna Sabalenka at the Wuhan Open and a tale of 10 match points
In tennis, the scoring system means an upset can take many forms. It can be a surprise thrashing, or a tight win that turns on a point or two. Or, as was the case in Wuhan Wednesday for the U.S.’s Ann Li, it can be a roller coaster. Her scoreline against four-time Grand Slam champion Aryna Sabalenka barely told the story of an up-and-down encounter — before getting to the fact that there were 10…
Ann Li's victory over four-time Grand Slam champion Aryna Sabalenka at the Wuhan Open unfolded like a roller coaster match, punctuated by 10 crucial match points for the American. Li bounced back from a 6-3, 4-2 deficit in the second set to take the lead 5-2 in the third, just one game away from a historic win. However, she quickly lost that lead and had to force a third-set tiebreak, ultimately prevailing in a thrilling 7-6(5) finale.
Li's serve was dominant throughout, breaking Sabalenka's serve early in the third set and holding her own against the world No. 2's powerful returns. Despite her mistakes, such as netting her first serve and sending a slice long, Li never lost her composure, capitalizing on Sabalenka's missteps and ultimately winning a hard-fought match.
Written by urgent.news from Yahoo Sports's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
Also reported by 3 other outlets
- Elina Svitolina advances to the Wuhan Open quarterfinals with win over local wild-card entry winnipegfreepress.com
- Elina Svitolina advances to the Wuhan Open quarterfinals with win over local wild-card entry sports.yahoo.com
- Svitolina bests China's Guo to make Wuhan quarterfinals - video english.nv.ua
