China’s number 1 player and world number 28 Wang Qiang beat last week’s Wuhan champion Aryna Sabalenka 7-5 7-5 in the quarter finals of the China Open WTA Premier Mandatory tournament to reach her second semifinal on home soil in the past two weeks. Wang stopped Sabalenka ‘s eight-match winning streak.
Wang has won 16 of her last 18 matches on Chinese soil, lifted her first two titles in Nanchang and Guangzhou and reached the semifinals in Wuhan.
Sabalenka survived a first service game to hold her serve before breaking serve for 2-0. She held serve at love to build up a 3-0 lead. Wang held her serve for the first time and broke back at 3-2 with a backhand pass on her first break point. Sabalenka broke again in a two-deuce sixth game to take a 4-2 lead. Wang broke straight back at 15 for 3-4. After three holds of serve, Wang converted her second break point at 15 in the 11th game with a crosscourt forehand winner to take a 6-5. The Chinese player closed out the first set with a service winner.
Both players held on their serve in the first ten games. Sabalenka saved the first break point of the second set with her backhand and held her serve for 4-3. Wang fended off a break point in the eighth game to to hold on her serve for 4-4. Wang held on her service game for 5-5 after two deuce before earning the crucial break in the 11th game at deuce to take the 6-5 edge. Sabalenka earned a break point with a backhand winner, as Wang was serving for the match at 6-5, but Wang saved it with a backhand down the line winner and won the next two points to close out the match.
Wang will take on Caroline Wozniacki, who eased past Katerina Siniakova 6-2 6-3 in an earlier quarter final. The Danish player has reached her first semifinal since the Eastbourne title last June. Wozniacki won 93 % of her first serve points and dropped just 10 points aìon her serve. Wozniacki got her first break in the second game and held on her three next service games before breaking serve in a three-deuce eighth game to win the first set 6-2. The Dane broke twice in the second and eighth games to claim the second set 6-2. The 2018 Australian Open champion brought up two match points. Siniakova saved it with a volley winner, but Wozniacki sealed the win, when Siniakova made her third double fault.
This year’s US Open semifinalist Anastasija Sevastova beat 2016 WTA Finals champion Dominika Cibulkova 6-3 7-6 (7-5). Sevastova saved two break points in the second game to hold her serve in a four-deuce second game. The Latvian player broke serve at love in the third game to open up a 3-1 lead. Cibulkova fended off two double break points in the fifth game to hold serve after six deuces. Sevastova got the double break at 15 to claim the first set 6-3.
Cibulkova got a break lead three times in the second set, but Sevastova broke back each time to draw level to 5-5. Sevastova took the 7-5 edge in the tie-break to claim the seventh win in 16 matches against top 30 players in 2018. The Latvian player has reached the semifinals at three of her past seven tournaments after winning in Bucharest and reaching the semifinals at the US Open.
