Aryna Sabalenka's performance at the prestigious tournament in the Chinese capital concluded with a significant upset and an unexpected early exit in the third round.
In the match for a place in the 1/8 finals, the Belarusian faced twenty-year-old Czech Nikola Bartůňková. The game lasted an hour and a half and concluded with Sabalenka's defeat, 4:6, 3:6.
The Belarusian failed to convert any of her five break points. The Guardian specifies that all these chances were squandered in the sixth game of the first set, when the Czech athlete showcased brilliant defensive play. In the eighth game, 28-year-old Sabalenka put on a cap, attempting to cope with the changing light and shadow on the court, but it did not help to turn the tide of the match. The Belarusian's nerves gave way: in the fourth game of the second set, she furiously threw her racket, and ended the match with an unforced error, hitting the ball into the net.
For the young Czech, ranked only 34th in the world, this triumph was a true milestone. She served four aces during the match. After the game, Bartůňková called the Belarusian a "legend" and admitted that she was incredibly happy to secure such a victory. In the next round, she will face Austrian Sinja Kraus.
Sabalenka's journey at the China Open proved to be remarkably short. She began directly from the second round (Round of 32), where she quite confidently defeated Mexican Renata Zarazúa (6:1, 6:3), but was unable to advance further.
Earlier, another Belarusian representative, Aliaksandra Sasnovich, also exited the tournament. After qualifying for the main draw and defeating Australian Thalia Gibson, she lost to Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova in the second round with a score of 1:6, 4:6.
The setback in Beijing extends a less-than-successful period in Sabalenka's career. A few weeks prior, she had lost her world No. 1 ranking, ceding the top spot to Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina. The new queen of world tennis, incidentally, also didn't last long in China, having exited the tournament already on Saturday after a defeat to Alina Charaeva.
The Beijing tournament, with a total prize fund exceeding 9.4 million dollars, will continue until October 11. The competition winner will receive 1.15 million dollars and one thousand ranking points. The reigning champion of the tournament is American Amanda Anisimova.
"Doctor", lawyer, man with a camera and several strong guys. In Petropavlivska Borshchahivka, Russian special services took advantage of a specific Ukrainian wartime business 1515
Comments