Sabalenka shocked by Muchova in quarters

BEIJING:

The 49th-ranked Karolina Muchova stunned top seed Aryna Sabalenka in three sets to reach the China Open semi-finals on Friday.

The Czech player won 7-6 (7/5), 2-6, 6-4 and faces China's Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen or 17-year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva for a place in the final.

Last year's US Open champion Coco Gauff plays Spain's former world number two Paula Badosa in the other semi-final in Beijing.

World number two Sabalenka was on a streak of 15 victories in a row, claiming titles in Cincinnati and then the US Open for the first time.

The Belarusian previously had trouble though with Muchova, who this time last year was inside the top 10 before injury struck.

US Open semi-finalist Muchova had won the last two meetings between them with both going to a deciding set.

This encounter proved to be just as tight.

Three-time major champion Sabalenka faced three break points at the start but she held firm, then had a sniff herself on her opponent's serve at 2-1, but Muchova similarly refused to buckle.

The hard-hitting Sabalenka had set point on Muchova's serve at 5-4 but surrendered the opportunity when she rattled her forehand wide on the Czech's second serve.

Muchova double-faulted to give Sabalenka another chance to wrap up the set but again she failed to take it.

The Czech had two set points in the tiebreak and grabbed the second at the end of a thrilling rally to go a set up.

It was the first set 26-year-old Sabalenka had dropped since the third round in New York.

Sabalenka started the second set brightly to break for 2-1 and broke once more on the way to sealing the set with comparative ease.

Neither could hold serve in the deciding set before Muchova, who at one point had appeared to be wilting in the face of her opponent's superior power, clinched the match in two hours, 46 minutes.

This time last year 28-year-old Muchova was ranked ninth in the world having reached the French Open final and semi-finals at Flushing Meadows.

But her 2023 season ended after the US Open because of wrist surgery and she did not play for nearly 10 months until returning this summer.

Revenge for Medvedev, Tsitsipas at Masters

Both Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas served sweet revenge at the Shanghai Masters on Friday, vanquishing old foes in straight sets as they progressed through to the third round.

World number five Medvedev came from behind in both sets to beat Brazil's Thiago Seyboth Wild 7-5, 7-5, while Tsitsipas battled through a tight match against Japan's Kei Nishikori to win 7-6 (8/6), 6-4.

Medvedev and Seyboth Wild have only met once before, but it was memorable.

The Russian, then world number two, was unceremoniously ejected from the 2023 French Open by qualifier Seyboth Wild in the first round.

The tenacious Brazilian did not make it easy for Medvedev on Friday, setting the tone by breaking first to pull 1-3 ahead.

But Medvedev persevered, making up the gap and then getting a crucial break in the 11th game, before winning the set 7-5.

Seyboth Wild pulled ahead early in the second set too, but again Medvedev caught him and repeated his earlier feat.

The match was closely fought, with the first set ending with a nail-biting tiebreaker that could have gone either way.

In the second set, 34-year-old Nishikori, who has been plagued in recent seasons by injury, required a medical time-out.

Despite encouragement from the crowd, he never recovered his momentum and Tsitsipas won four of the last five games to close out the match.

Earlier in the day, Americans Ben Shelton and Tommy Paul also booked places in the third round without too much trouble.

Shelton beat Canada's Denis Shapovalov 6-3, 7-5, while Paul took out Italy's Fabio Fognini 6-1, 6-3.

Veteran Frenchman Gael Monfils will face compatriot Ugo Humbert in the next round, after his victory over Argentina's Sebastian Baez.

The 38-year-old Monfils fought off his 23-year-old opponent 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.