Wuhan Open: Sabalenka survives huge scare to move into last eight

Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, the top seed, moved into the last eight of the Wuhan Open by defeating Kazakh Yulia Putintseva 1-6, 6-4, 6-0 at the Optics Valley International Tennis Center.

The world No 2 was left stunned after a chastening first-set defeat in which she could only win a single game against an inspired and dialled-in Putintseva.

Things got worse for Sabalenka as she fell behind by an early break near the start of the middle set, before staging a remarkable comeback.

Breaking back before surging into the lead to take the second, the ruthless Belarusian then found her formidable full-flight best in the decider, as her opponent’s level and belief dropped away.

A third-set bagel handed Sabalenka an excellent comeback win after a huge scare in the first half of the match.

Sabalenka, ranked No 2, will face the winner of the match between Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia, the No 9 seed, and Pole Magdalena Frech next.

The Belarusian won against Katerina Siniakova (6-4, 6-4) ahead of her victory.

Earlier in the tournament, Putintseva, ranked No 35, won against Chinese Shuai Zhang (6-4, 6-4) and edged out Croat Donna Vekic, the No 15 seed (6-4, 3-6, 6-4).

Wuhan WTA 1000, other last-16 results (Optics Valley International Tennis Center, hard, USD 3.221.715, most recent results first):

• Beatriz Haddad Maia vs. Magdalena Frech
• Qinwen Zheng (5) beat Leylah Fernandez: 5-7, 6-3, 6-0
• Jasmine Paolini (3) beat Erika Andreeva (LL): 6-3, 6-2
• Xinyu Wang beat Jessica Pegula (2): 6-3, 7-5
• Ekaterina Alexandrova beat Hailey Baptiste (Q): 6-1, 6-1
• Magda Linette beat Daria Kasatkina (8): 6-2, 6-3
• Coco Gauff (4) beat Marta Kostyuk (13): 6-4, 6-1