Pegula and Gauff Advance in the Wuhan Open; Osaka Shocks
Tennis player Jessica Pegula, after overcoming a moment of tension, managed to advance in the Wuhan Open. On the other hand, Coco Gauff demonstrated her dominance with a resounding victory. However, the surprise came with Naomi Osaka’s defeat. Jessica Pegula, seeded number six, defeated Hailey Baptiste in a tight tiebreak of the third set, with a final score of 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (6). Pegula needed seven match points to secure her place in the third round of the tournament. In the next phase, Pegula will face Ekaterina Alexandrova, the ninth seed, who defeated Ann Li with a score of 7-6 (5), 6-2. Coco Gauff, ranked number three, delivered an outstanding performance by defeating Moyuka Uchijima with a score of 6-1, 6-0 in just 51 minutes, demonstrating her excellent level on the court. The surprise of the day was the defeat of Naomi Osaka, eleventh seed, against Linda Noskova, who achieved victory with a score of 7-6 (2), 6-3. Noskova, after her victory, will face Jaqueline Cristian or Elena Rybakina in the next round. Liudmila Samsonova, seeded number 16, also advanced after defeating Sofia Kenin with a score of 3-6, 6-3, 6-1. In addition, Kateřina Siniaková, coming from the qualifying phase, defeated Maya Joint with a result of 6-3, 6-1. In the third round, Samsonova will face Aryna Sabalenka, US Open champion, who defeated Rebecca Sramkova with a score of 4-6, 6-3, 6-1. Sabalenka, currently at the top of the ranking, has had an impressive streak in Wuhan, with an 18-0 record and titles in 2018, 2019, and 2024. After her second consecutive triumph at Flushing Meadows, she took a break in Greece and withdrew from last week’s China Open.Sabalenka broke her opponent’s serve, ranked 68th, in the first game of the final set and converted her second match point to win in almost two hours. After Sramkova broke Sabalenka’s serve twice to win the first set, Sabalenka began her comeback with a break in the fourth game of the second set and took a 4-1 lead. She saved four break points in the seventh game. Karolina Muchova became the latest player to succumb to the heat and humidity, retiring from her match while trailing against Magdalena Frech 7-6 (1), 4-1.I knew that after that little break… it wouldn’t be so easy to get back into my rhythm. I’m very happy that I found my game in the second set and that I stepped up, 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
