Sabalenka relishes ‘much-needed’ tennis rivalry with Swiatek
WUHAN: World number two Aryna Sabalenka said on Wednesday she believes her rivalry with top-ranked Iga Swiatek is “much-needed” in women’s tennis.
The Belarusian advanced to the Wuhan Open third round by beating Katerina Siniakova 6-4, 6-4, her 50th victory of the season.
Swiatek is absent from the field in Wuhan and withdrew from the China swing after splitting with her coach of three years Tomasz Wiktorowski.
Sabalenka has a chance to close the gap on the Polish world number one with a strong run in Wuhan, with the battle for the top spot likely to come down to the wire at the season-ending championships in Riyadh next month.
“Having this rivalry with Iga is something big for tennis and something much-needed, I would say, in women’s tennis,” said Sabalenka, who will face Yulia Putintseva in the last 16.
“To keep this competition going would be really good for tennis,” she said.
Sabalenka, 26, spent eight weeks at the summit of the rankings last season and says reclaiming the world number one spot is one of her biggest goals.
Meanwhile, Coco Gauff followed up her China Open title in Beijing on Sunday with a smooth 6-1, 6-2 win over Viktoriya Tomova.
Gauff has a seven-match winning streak and faces 13th seed Marta Kostyuk in the last 16.
Kostyuk received a walkover after her opponent Amanda Anisimova withdrew with a left hip injury.Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova crashed out to American qualifier and world number 102 Hailey Baptiste 6-3, 7-5 in just 94 minutes.
The 22-year-old Baptiste will next take on Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova for a place in the quarter-finals.
Hometown hero Zheng Qinwen moved past Jaqueline Cristian 6-2, 6-4 to book a third-round meeting with Canadian left-hander Leylah Fernandez.
In other action at the WTA 1000 tournament, second-seeded Jessica Pegula, third-seeded Jasmine Paolini of Italy and ninth-seeded Beatriz Haddad Maia each posted convincing victories in their respective second-round matches.
Brazil’s Haddad Maia converted four of five break points and saved the same number in a 6-1, 6-4 win over Veronika Kudermetova of Russia.
Mirra Andreeva, the No. 16 seed, wasn’t as fortunate, however — against her own sister, no less. Erika Andreeva, 20, posted a 6-3, 6-1 win over Mirra, 17.
Magdalena Frech of Poland notched a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win over sixth-seeded Emma Navarro and Daria Kasatkina of Russia, the ninth seed, needed three sets to defeat Bernarda Pera.
Published in Dawn, October 10th, 2024
