Pegula and Gauff Advance in the Wuhan Open; Osaka Surprised
In a day full of emotions at the Wuhan Open, Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff managed to advance to the next round, while Naomi Osaka suffered an unexpected defeat. Pegula, seeded number six, defeated her compatriot Hailey Baptiste in a close tiebreak, with a final score of 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (6). Pegula needed seven match points to secure her victory and advance to the third round of the tournament. Your next challenge will be against Ekaterina Alexandrova, ninth seed, who defeated Ann Li with a score of 7-6 (5), 6-2. For her part, Coco Gauff, after her recent defeat in the China Open semifinals, demonstrated her superiority by defeating Moyuka Uchijima with a resounding 6-1, 6-0 in just 51 minutes, securing her place in the next phase. The day’s surprise was delivered by Linda Noskova, who eliminated Naomi Osaka with a score of 7-6 (2), 6-3. Noskova, 20 years old, will face Jaqueline Cristian or Elena Rybakina in her next match. Liudmila Samsonova also managed to advance after defeating Sofia Kenin with scores of 3-6, 6-3, 6-1. In the third round, Samsonova will face Aryna Sabalenka, the current US Open champion. Sabalenka, who defeated Rebecca Sramkova with a score of 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, has had an outstanding performance in Wuhan. The world number one is looking to add another title to her impressive record in China, where she has won in 2018, 2019, and 2024.In another match, Karolina Muchova was forced to retire due to the heat and humidity, while losing to Magdalena Frech with a score of 7-6 (1), 4-1.I knew that after that little break… it wouldn’t be so easy to get my rhythm back. I’m very happy to have found my game in the second set and to have stepped up, and I think I played very well. I’m very happy to be back. I’ve won many tournaments in China. It feels like home in this stadium, and I really hope I can go all the way.
Aryna Sabalenka
