Barty battles back, Pliskova and Halep through in Wuhan
Belinda Bencic was the only seed beaten at the Wuhan Open on Tuesday as Ashleigh Barty overcame a potential upset.
Ashleigh Barty, Karolina Pliskova and Simona Halep all progressed on a day of few shocks at the Wuhan Open.
There were occasional scares for the big names, with world number one Barty worked hard by Caroline Garcia, but only Belinda Bencic came up short out of the seeded players.
Elina Svitolina was also triumphant, beating 2015 finalist Garbine Muguruza in straight sets.
BARTY GETS REVENGE
Barty – then playing just her third WTA Tour final, was beaten by Garcia in the 2017 Wuhan championship match – belatedly got her revenge, as top seed, on Tuesday.
It looked for a time as though the Australian might be in trouble again, as she dropped the first set and faced a break point in the first game of the second.
But Barty showed grit to come through that lengthy game, pinching the set at the last and then easing to a 4-6 6-4 6-1 win.
“I had to make some small adjustments in the second set,” she said. “[The first set] was just kind of ebbing and flowing a little bit. Caro played the bigger points better.
.@ashbar96 is putting on a lob clinic! #WuhanOpen pic.twitter.com/x7vPNNuKci
— WTA (@WTA) September 24, 2019
“It was just about me being a little bit smarter with my serving and trying to be in control in those first couple of points.”
HALEP LOOKING FORWARD
Halep improved to a 6-0 head-to-head record against Barbora Strycova in a comfortable triumph, 6-3 6-2.
The Romanian said: “It’s never easy to play against her, but I’m confident every time because I have a few matches won against her, so it’s a good thing for me.
“It’s a good start,” Halep added. “I’m looking forward to the next one.”
Pliskova was also ultimately comfortable against Amanda Anisimova, recovering from being broken in her first service games of either set to beat the dangerous teenager 6-3 6-3.
BERTENS, KENIN ALSO RALLY
Barty was not the only star required to dig deep on Tuesday, as Kiki Bertens and Sofia Kenin each also came from a set down to progress.
Bertens avoided a shock against Bernarda Pera, winning 3-6 6-4 6-2 to set up a meeting with defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, while Kenin saw off Elise Mertens in three.
Sloane Stephens needed three sets to get through, as did Alison Riske, Petra Martic, Elena Rybakina and Veronika Kudermetova, who upset Bencic 2-6 6-3 6-4 in the final match of the day.
grindingggg @wuhanopentennis pic.twitter.com/SJQmXDlc42
— Sloane Stephens (@SloaneStephens) September 24, 2019
There were wins elsewhere for Wang Qiang, Dayana Yastremska and Svetlana Kuznetsova.
