Wuhan Open: Sabalenka sets up Gauff showdown in semis

Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, the top seed, moved into the final four of the Wuhan Open by winning against Pole Magdalena Frech 6-2, 6-2 at the Optics Valley International Tennis Center on Friday.

After winning the title in Wuhan in 2018 and 2019, Sabalenka has now won 15 matches in a row at the WTA 1000 event. She has also won 18 of her last 19 matches on the tour.

Sabalenka, ranked No 2, will take on Coco Gauff, the No 4 seed, next. The American holds a slim 4-3 edge in the head-to-head between the pair with Sabalenka winning their only encounter in 2024 so far; the semi-final clash at the Australian Open.

“I’ll try to put as much pressure as possible on her” – Sabalenka on playing Gauff next

“We had a lot of great, big matches, great fights. I’m really looking forward to always enjoying playing against her,” Sabalenka said after her win today. “I think the main thing is, once again, focus on myself, focus on my footwork, go to the net, finish the point over there. On this slow surface, you have to go there. You have to be brave enough and finish the point there. I think that’s the main plan. It worked really well in our last meeting, so I’ll just stick to the plan. I’ll try to put as much pressure as possible on her.”

Ahead of her win today, the Belarusian defeated Katerina Siniakova (6-4, 6-4) and Kazakh Yulia Putintseva (1-6, 6-4, 6-0).

Frech, ranked No 27, beat Japanese qualifier Mai Hontama (6-0, 6-4), American Emma Navarro, the No 6 seed (6-4, 3-6, 6-3) and Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia, the No 9 seed (6-3, 6-2) earlier in the tournament.

Wuhan WTA 1000, other quarter-final results (Optics Valley International Tennis Center, hard, USD 3,221,715):

• Xinyu Wang beat Ekaterina Alexandrova: 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (6)
• Coco Gauff beat Magda Linette: 6-0, 6-4
• Qinwen Zheng vs. Jasmine Paolini

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