Top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka and second-seeded Jessica Pegula were both knocked out from the Wuhan Open on Wednesday, while China’s Guo Hanyu advanced to the round of 16.
Ann Li of the United States ended Sabalenka’s bid for the fourth Wuhan title, winning 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5). The three-time champion took the opening set in 35 minutes before Li leveled the match.
Sabalenka trailed 2-5 in the decider, saved five match points to hold, broke back and then saved two more match points before forcing a tiebreak.
“I think on some of those match points I was about to lose my mind. I was about to crash out. In the end, you just have to realize, I didn’t play bad and she just played really well,” Li said. “And so you have to just play point by point. And I knew that if I stayed there, I could get to the situation again.”
“For me, it just shows that I’m trying to improve every day from every match. My only goal was to improve from the last match I played,” Li added. “I know that if I play my tennis and I stay positive, and I stay physical and intense, I can win any match.”
Pegula, the Wuhan Open runner-up last year, led 6-2 before Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia won 2-6, 7-6 (7), 6-3.
China’s Guo outlasted Katie Volynets of the United States 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (3) to reach the last 16 at a WTA 1000 event for the first time.
“It was another very tough match today, and the score stayed close,” Guo said. “Until the last point, there was no way to say the match was over, so I just tried to give everything I had from start to finish and do the best I could. I’m happy to have won another match.”
Guo next plays fifth-seeded Elina Svitolina of Ukraine.
“It will be an even harder match, and I will prepare more tonight,” Guo said. “The first thing is to recover well, so that I can step on court tomorrow at 100 percent.”
In other matches, seventh-seeded Iga Swiatek beat Magdalena Frech in straight sets, 10th-seeded Iva Jovic of the United States downed Dayana Yastremska 6-4, 6-1, and Sonay Kartal of Britain beat ninth-seeded Belinda Bencic of Switzerland 6-0, 7-5. China’s Shi Han lost to Leylah Fernandez of Canada 6-3, 6-4.