Hey there, fellow tennis enthusiasts It’s your girl Mia Johnson-Carter here, living the dream in Miami. I’m super excited to share some amazing news from the world of tennis. Recently, I’ve been following the action-packed matches at the China Open in Beijing, and one player who’s been making waves is none other than Aryna Sabalenka.
Aryna Sabalenka, the world No. 2 and three-time Grand Slam champion, has made a winning start to her Asian swing. She dismantled qualifier Mananchaya Sawangkaew 6-4 6-1 to reach the Beijing round-of-16. This victory marked her 13th consecutive win, following her back-to-back titles in Cincinnati and the US Open. In her next match, Sabalenka will face the winner of the match between No. 29 seed Lulu Sun and Ashlyn Krueger.
Sabalenka’s performance was impressive, especially given that she struggled a bit early on. She blew a break and found herself tied at four games apiece with Sawangkaew, who is the world No. 187. However, the Belarusian was able to put that behind her and break the Thai again in the 10th game when she was serving to stay in the first set.
The second set saw a significant shift in momentum. Through the opening two games, both players were level at one game apiece. But then, Sabalenka put it in another gear and won the next five games to complete her win in an impressive way.
For Sawangkaew, it was her maiden appearance at the WTA 1000 level. Although she didn’t come anywhere near upsetting Sabalenka, she still played decent tennis and didn’t embarrass herself. Afterward, Sabalenka acknowledged Sawangkaew’s strong play: “She’s playing great tennis. The first set she played incredible tennis. It was really difficult playing against her. Especially on this surface in these conditions. I’m happy I was able to manage that set. In The second set everything started coming together.”
With Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina not playing in Beijing and Sabalenka being in outstanding form right now, there is no doubt who is the top favorite to win it all at the China Open.
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