CHINESE qualifier Han Shi closed Monday's opening day of action with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 upset of 13th-seeded Alexandra Eala of the Philippines at the Wuhan Open in China.
Ranked No. 217 in the world, Shi saved two of three break points and finished with a 31-20 advantage in winners in a match that lasted 2 hours and 27 minutes. Eala had six double faults and 37 unforced errors.
Shi won four consecutive games to close out the second set and raced to a 4-1 lead in the third set. Her opponent in the second round of the WTA 1000 tournament will be Canada's Leylah Fernandez, a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 winner against Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia.
No. 15 Jasmine Paolini of Italy was the only other seeded player in action on Monday. She overcame seven double faults by saving eight of 12 break points in a 6-3, 6-4 win against Sara Bejlek of the Czech Republic.
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Paolini converted six of 15 break chances and finished with an even 26 winners and 26 unforced errors, compared to 17 and 24 for Bejlek.
American Caty McNally rallied for a 2-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4 victory against Ukraine's Yuliia Starodubtseva.
The other first-round matches were all decided in straight sets, including Xiyu Wang's 6-2, 6-0 win against Chinese compatriot Xinyu Wang in 68 minutes.
Maria Sakkari of Greece defeated Croatia's Donna Vekic 6-4, 6-2. Poland's Magdalena Frech was a 6-3, 7-6 (5) winner over Thailand's Mananchaya Sawangkaew.
Slovakia's Mia Pohankova posted a 6-1, 6-3 win over Anna Bondar of Hungary. Indonesia's Janice Tjen took down Japan's Aoi Ito 6-3, 6-1. Czech Marie Bouzkova was leading 6-1, 2-0 when Denmark's Clara Tauson retired.
Britain's Sonay Kartal beat Ukraine's Anhelina Kalinina 7-5, 6-3. Thailand's Lanlana Tararudee won 6-4, 6-1 against France's Diane Parry.
The tournament's top seeds are No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus and No. 2 Jessica Pegula. World No. 1 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan and defending champion Coco Gauff withdrew before the tourney.
Sabalenka won the Wuhan title in 2018, 2019 and 2024.
"I feel when you come to the place where you have a lot of success, you feel different," she told reporters at the event's media day. "You feel at home, you feel comfortable with the conditions and with everything here. I definitely feel warm here in Wuhan." — REUTERS
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