Sabalenka breezes past Sawangkaew in China Open second round

Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, the top seed, reached the third round of the China Open by winning against Thai qualifier Mananchaya Sawangkaew 6-4, 6-1 at the National Tennis Center in Beijing on Saturday.

Sabalenka faced stern resistance from Sawangkaew in the first set as the latter managed to earn a break. The Belarusian, however, edged ahead with two break-point conversions.

In the second set, the top seed played her natural best, saving three break points and converting two to take the win after an hour, 17 minutes.

After the win, Sabalenka praised her opponent:

“She’s playing great tennis, the first set she played incredible tennis,” the 26-year-old said. “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 2nd set everything started coming together. Thank you so much for the support. It’s really amazing to be back here. I’m happy with this win.”

The Belarusian is now undefeated in her last 13 matches. Her winning streak began in August at the Cincinnati Open. She lifted the title there followed by a triumphant run at the US Open.

Sabalenka, ranked No 2, will play the winner of the match between American Ashlyn Krueger and New Zealander Lulu Sun, the No 29 seed, next.

In the previous round of the Beijing tournament, Sawangkaew, ranked No 187, defeated Kazakh qualifier Zarina Diyas (6-2, 6-3).

Beijing WTA 1000, other second-round results (National Tennis Center, hard, USD 8.955.610, most recent results first):

• Kamilla Rakhimova vs. Qinwen Zheng
• Viktorija Golubic vs. Donna Vekic
• Mirra Andreeva vs. Irina-Camelia Begu
• Madison Keys vs. Sara Sorribes Tormo
• Dayana Yastremska vs. Nadia Podoroska
• Ashlyn Krueger vs. Lulu Sun
• Yue Yuan vs. Karolina Muchova
• Jaqueline Cristian vs. Barbora Krejcikova
• Sijia Wei vs. Beatriz Haddad Maia
• Amanda Anisimova (34) beat Camila Osorio: 1-6, 6-3, 6-4
• Daria Kasatkina (9) beat Jana Fett (LL): 6-1, 6-2
• Magda Linette (31) beat Moyuka Uchijima: 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
• Jasmine Paolini (3) beat Clara Tauson: 1-6, 7-5, 6-4
• Elise Mertens (24) beat Elisabetta Cocciaretto: 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-3
• Cristina Bucsa beat Liudmila Samsonova (11): 6-1, 4-6, 6-4
• Coco Gauff (4) beat Clara Burel: 7-5, 6-3
• Magdalena Frech (23) beat Alycia Parks (Q): 6-4, 5-7, 6-4
• Rebecca Sramkova (Q) beat Ekaterina Alexandrova (22): 5-7, 6-4, 6-3
• Naomi Osaka beat Yulia Putintseva (21): 3-6, 6-4, 6-2
• Jessica Pegula (2) beat Diane Parry: 6-1, 7-6 (4)
• Katie Volynets beat Marta Kostyuk (14): 7-5, 6-3
• Peyton Stearns beat Leylah Fernandez (20): 7-5, 6-2
• Elina Avanesyan beat Caroline Dolehide (33): 6-3, 5-7, 6-2
• Paula Badosa (15) beat Viktoriya Tomova: 6-3, 6-2
• Anna Kalinskaya (10) beat Hailey Baptiste (Q): 3-6, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (5)
• Veronika Kudermetova (32) beat Xinyu Wang: 3-6, 6-4, 7-5
• Katie Boulter (26) beat Taylor Townsend: 6-4, 6-4
• Diana Shnaider (12) beat Sofia Kenin: 6-2, 6-3
• Shuai Zhang (WC) beat Emma Navarro (6): 6-4, 6-2
• Greet Minnen beat Anastasia Potapova (28): 7-5, 2-6, 6-4
• Yuliia Starodubtseva (Q) beat Katerina Siniakova (27): 6-2, 6-2

Read also

China Open: Anisimova advances to third round

Tennis Majors