Iga Swiatek advances authoritatively in the Wuhan Open
Polish tennis player Iga Swiatek demonstrated her power by advancing to the third round of the Wuhan Open, a WTA 1,000-level tournament. Swiatek defeated Marie Bouzkova in straight sets, solidifying her path in the championship.
The current Wimbledon champion, Swiatek, showed a remarkable recovery after her recent exit in the fourth round of the China Open. Her victory over the Czech tennis player was achieved with a score of 6-1, 6-1.
This victory represents the 60th for the six-time Grand Slam winner so far this year, marking the fourth consecutive year in which she has reached this figure.
Every tournament I go to, I want to play as well as possible. Sometimes I achieve it, sometimes I don’t, but my expectation is simply to give my best.
Iga Swiatek
In the next round, world number two Swiatek will face Belinda Bencic or Elise Mertens.
Emma Raducanu withdraws due to health issues
Emma Raducanu was forced to retire due to illness in her first-round match. The British tennis player, number 1 in her country, had to be attended to and her blood pressure and temperature were taken during the match against the American Ann Li.
Li was leading the match with a score of 6-1, 4-1 when Raducanu decided to retire. Li will face Ekaterina Alexandrova, the ninth seed, in the second round.
Naomi Osaka comes back to advance
Naomi Osaka, after losing the first set, managed to come back and defeat Leylah Fernandez with scores of 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, securing her place in the second round.
Osaka, back in the Chinese city for the first time since 2017, faced the player who defeated her at the 2021 US Open. Fernandez, who was beaten by Raducanu in the US Open final four years ago, took advantage of one of her two break opportunities in the first set and maintained consistent serving. However, Osaka intensified the pressure on return serves in the second set, which included five breaks.
In other matches, Sofia Kenin defeated Anastasia Zakharova with a score of 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3, and will face Liudmila Samsonova, who beat Emiliana Arango 6-1, 7-5.
Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff, ranked number 1 and 3 respectively, were scheduled to debut on Wednesday. Amanda Anisimova, who was runner-up at the US Open and Wimbledon this year, withdrew from the Wuhan Open due to a left calf muscle injury.
