WUHAN, China — The top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka fought back from an initial setback to claim victory against unseeded Rebecca Sramkova, finishing with a scoreline of 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 at the Wuhan Open on Wednesday.
As the reigning champion, Sabalenka has been on a phenomenal streak in Wuhan, boasting an impressive record of 18-0, having lifted the trophy in 2018, 2019, and 2024.
The U.S. Open titleholder made a crucial early break against her opponent ranked 68th in the world, seizing control of the final set and ultimately converting her second match point after nearly two hours of intense play.
“I realized that after that brief pause … getting back into my rhythm wouldn’t be straightforward,” Sabalenka remarked during her on-court interview. “I’m truly happy that I found my game in the second set and played exceptionally well.”
Sabalenka ignited her comeback by breaking Sramkova in the fourth game of the second set, swiftly moving to a 4-1 advantage, while also saving four break points during a tense seventh game.
Next up for Sabalenka is the 16th seed Liudmila Samsonova, who staged a comeback to defeat the 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin with a score of 3-6, 6-3, 6-1.
Notably, Sramkova managed to break Sabalenka’s serve twice during the opening set.
Following her successive triumph at Flushing Meadows, Sabalenka enjoyed a holiday in Greece but opted to withdraw from last week’s China Open, another prestigious WTA 1000 event.
Meanwhile, Jessica Pegula faced some challenges as she was broken twice while serving for the match in the third set. However, she regrouped to narrowly defeat Hailey Baptiste in a gripping tiebreaker.
The sixth-seeded Pegula triumphed over her fellow American with a score of 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (6) after successfully converting her seventh match point, advancing to the third round.
Pegula will next meet the ninth seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, who overcame American Ann Li with a score of 7-6 (5), 6-2.
Third seed Coco Gauff, fresh off a semifinal defeat against eventual champion Amanda Anisimova at the China Open, effortlessly reached the next stage with a commanding 6-1, 6-0 victory over Moyuka Uchijima in just 51 minutes.
Additionally, qualifier Kateřina Siniaková continued her strong performance, defeating Maya Joint with a score of 6-3, 6-1.
In a surprising upset, the eleventh seed Naomi Osaka was knocked out by unseeded Linda Noskova, who won 7-6 (2), 6-3. The young Czech, who just faced defeat in the China Open final against Anisimova, displayed great form.
Noskova, currently ranked 17th, will advance to face either Jaqueline Cristian or Elena Rybakina in her next match.
