Pegula and Gauff Advance in the Wuhan Open; Osaka Surprised
In a day full of emotions at the Wuhan Open, Jessica Pegula achieved a crucial victory, while Coco Gauff demonstrated her dominance on the court. However, Naomi Osaka suffered an unexpected defeat, adding an unexpected twist to the tournament. Pegula, seeded number 6, defeated her compatriot Hailey Baptiste in a tight tiebreak in 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. The American tennis player, who comes from participating in the China Open semifinals last week, will face Ekaterina Alexandrova, ninth seed, in her next match. Coco Gauff, the third seed, easily advanced to the next round after defeating Moyuka Uchijima with a resounding 6-1, 6-0 in just 51 minutes, demonstrating her excellent level of play. The surprise of the day was delivered by Linda Noskova, who eliminated Naomi Osaka, eleventh seed, with a score of 7-6 (2), 6-3. The 20-year-old Czech player, who was runner-up at the China Open, continues her path in the tournament. Noskova, currently ranked 17th, will face Jaqueline Cristian or Elena Rybakina in her next match. Liudmila Samsonova, seeded number 16, also achieved a comeback victory against Sofia Kenin, champion of the 2020 Australian Open, with a score of 3-6, 6-3, 6-1. In addition, Kateřina Siniaková, coming from the qualifying phase, defeated Maya Joint 6-3, 6-1. In the third round, Samsonova will face Aryna Sabalenka, US Open champion, who defeated Rebecca Sramkova 4-6, 6-3, 6-1. Sabalenka, world number one, has had an impressive performance in Wuhan, with an 18-0 record and titles in 2018, 2019, and 2024. After her second consecutive victory at Flushing Meadows, she took a break and withdrew from the China Open.Sabalenka managed to break 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 went ahead 4-1. In the seventh game, she saved four break points. Karolina Muchova became the latest player to retire due to the heat and humidity, abandoning her match while losing to Magdalena Frech 7-6 (1), 4-1.I knew that after that little break… it wouldn’t be easy to get my rhythm back. I’m very happy to have found my game in the second set and to have stepped up, I think I played really 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
