WUHAN - Top seed Aryna Sabalenka extended her unbeaten run to 20 matches in Wuhan Open, defeating Elena Rybakina 6-3, 6-3 to reach the semifinals, while second seed Iga Swiatek was stunned by Jasmine Paolini of Italy here on Friday.
The world No 1 overpowered her Kazakh opponent with aggressive baseline hitting, breaking Rybakina's serve in the eighth game of the opening set, before sealing it 6-3. Sabalenka continued her momentum in the second set, downing the eighth seed with another 6-3 in one hour and 25 minutes.
"Rybakina is a great opponent, and I love playing her, because she really pushes me to the next level, and that's what I love," Sabalenka said after the match.
The 27-year-old added that she has grown more adaptable with experience. "Throughout my career, I was learning how to adjust my tennis to different conditions," she said. "Right now, honestly, I don't really care what the conditions are. I know that my game has developed so much that I have a game for any sort of conditions."
Sabalenka, who has never lost a match in Wuhan since her debut in the central Chinese city since 2018, will next face Jessica Pegula of the United States for a final ticket.
Sixth-seeded Pegula defeated Czech player Katerina Siniakova 2-6, 6-0, 6-3, while Coco Gauff joined her compatriot in the last four with a commanding 6-3, 6-0 victory over Laura Siegemund of Germany.
Paolini made the biggest surprise of the day by stunning second-seeded Swiatek 6-1, 6-2, ending a five-match losing streak against the Polish star.
"I think I had the ideas more clear this time," Paolini said. "I was so aggressive, and I think I played a similar match to Cincinnati, but today I made fewer mistakes, and my execution was better. And I think I was also more focused on every point and on what I had to put her in difficult situations."
The Italian who has been in China for over a month spoke highly of her journey here. "My staying in China is going great. We won the Billie Jean King Cup title, and I played great tennis in Beijing and Wuhan. I'm happy with how I'm staying focused, and I'm enjoying China."
