Sabalenka upsets top seed Barty
Aryna Sabalenka moved one step closer to defending her Wuhan Open crown after dispatching world No. 1 Ash Barty in straight sets with a 7-5, 6-4 victory in the semifinal on Friday.
Barty struggled to compete, with a calf injury limiting her movement and service game. She made eight double faults and was broken three times in the one-hour, 43-minute contest to give Sabalenka her third win over the Australian in five encounters.
Top seed Barty was forced to call for a trainer for treatment on her calf, but gave credit to Sabalenka for what was the Belarusian’s 11th straight victory in Wuhan.
“I’m sure (the injury) is nothing that is too alarming. I tried to do the best that I could to protect it in a way without letting it affect my tennis too much,” Barty said. “Overall, Aryna was the better player today.”
Unseeded American Alison Riske beat two-time champion Petra Kvitova 7-5, 7-5 in the other semifinal to advance to her first Premier final.
Kvitova’s poor service game saw her concede 15 break points, of which Riske converted four to win the match in straight sets despite a late fightback from the Czech, who finished with 45 unforced errors.
The final will be held Saturday.
Canada’s Denis Shapovalov topped Bulgaria’s Egor Gerasimov 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 to advance to the semifinals of the Chengdu Open in China.
Shapovalov will face Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta, who advanced with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Chile’s Cristian Garin. Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan continued his upset streak, knocking off No. 4 seed Grigor Dmitrov of Bulgaria 5-7, 7-6 (9), 7-6 (3) to reach the semifinals.
Bublik, who upset No. 6 seed Taylor Fritz in the previous round, will face off next against unseeded South African Lloyd Harris. Harris advanced with a 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4 victory over Portugal’s Joao Sousa.
Spain’s Albert Ramos-Vinolas, seeded eighth, upset No. 3 seed Gael Monfils of France 7-5, 6-4 on Friday to reach the semifinal of the Zhuhai Championships in China. He’ll next face France’s Adrian Mannarino, who beat Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-4.
Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut, seeded second, cruised past Italy’s Andreas Seppi 6-2, 6-2 on the other side of the draw. That sets up a semifinal against No. 7 seed Alex de Minaur of Australia, who toppled No. 4 seed Borna Coric of Croatia 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.