Katie Boulter Faces Defeat by Aryna Sabalenka at China Open 2023

Last updated on 3 October 20233 October 2023. From the section Tennis, British number one Katie Boulter faced a tough straight-set defeat by the world’s number one, Aryna Sabalenka, in the second round of the China Open. Despite serving for both sets at 5-4, Boulter, ranked 56th in the world, lost 7-5, 7-6 (7-2) to the Australian Open champion. The Belarusian Sabalenka, who was the runner-up at the US Open last month, managed to win six successive points in the tie-break. As a result, she is set to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in a bid to secure a place in the quarter-finals in Beijing. Sabalenka commented, “I definitely left everything I had on the court. She played unbelievable tennis, and I’m super happy that I was able to win this match.”

Poland’s Iga Swiatek, who was replaced as the world number one following the US Open, emerged victorious against France’s Varvara Gracheva with a score of 6-4, 6-1, after a rain delay. Meanwhile, US Open champion and world number three Coco Gauff managed to pull off a hard-fought victory against Croatia’s Petra Martic. Gauff won 7-5, 5-7, 7-6 (7-2) despite Martic serving for victory at 5-4 in the second set. Reflecting on the match, Gauff said, “I was just trying to play every ball. She raised her level, and she was playing really well. I didn’t play my best the whole match, but the tie-breaker was definitely my best. These matches are going to make me tougher for the rest of the tournament and the rest of the season.”

Another American player, Jessica Pegula, the fourth seed, secured a victory against Russian Anna Blinkova with a score of 6-7 (2-7), 6-2, 6-1, setting up a meeting with Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko. Meanwhile, Wimbledon runner-up Ons Jabeur faced disappointment as she was knocked out by Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk. Jabeur, the seventh seed from Tunisia, was broken when serving for the first set at 5-4, allowing world number 33 Kostyuk to clinch a 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 victory by winning the final five games.

It’s worth noting that the WTA resumed tournaments in China this year after accepting that the Chinese government would not conduct an investigation into sexual assault allegations made by former player Peng Shuai.

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