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Aryna Sabalenka needed 54 minutes to dismiss Wang Xinyu 6-1, 6-3 and win her round of 32 match at the Cincinnati Open, while Coco Gauff, Mirra Andreeva, Marta Kostyuk, Madison Keys and Marie Bouzkova all came through in straight sets. The upset of the round belonged to Sara Bejlek, who recovered from a set down to beat No. 16 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova. Elina Svitolina withdrew with an ankle injury, handing Wang Xiyu a walkover.
Cincinnati, United States: A round of 32 that mostly obeyed the seedings, and one Czech who refused to. Across the courts of the Lindner Family Tennis Center, the top half of the draw thinned out with the tidy inevitability that WTA 1000 events usually promise, and then Sara Bejlek walked onto Tony Trabert Stadium 3 and took it apart.
Sabalenka set the tone in the evening. The world No. 1 has now reached the last 16 or better at 45 WTA 1000 events, and against Wang Xinyu she barely broke stride — four breaks of serve, five unforced errors, 17 winners, and not a single break point conceded in eight service games. She lost six points on serve all night and won 93.3 per cent of her second-serve points. “She’s a tough opponent, and to get this win in straight sets, under an hour, it’s an insane result and I’m so happy to be through,” Sabalenka said. “I think I really trusted myself, I was going for my shots without overthinking.”
The Czech Who Wouldn’t Read the Script
Bejlek came into the round of 32 ranked outside the top 30 and left it with the scalp of a top-20 player she had already beaten once this year. Alexandrova took the opening set 6-4, breaking twice while Bejlek won only half her service points. Then the match inverted. Over the final two sets Bejlek won 34 of 46 points on serve — 73.9 per cent — saved the only break point she faced, and took twelve of the last fifteen games for a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 win in one hour and 55 minutes.
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It followed wins over Karolina Pliskova and Barbora Krejcikova earlier in the week, and moved her head-to-head with Alexandrova to 2-0 after February’s Abu Dhabi Open final, where Bejlek won her first tour-level title as a qualifier. Sabalenka awaits in the round of 16.
Andreeva Survives the Tiebreak, Kostyuk Doesn’t Blink
Mirra Andreeva’s 6-1, 7-6 (5) win over No. 32 seed Janice Tjen looked routine for a set and became anything but. Tjen found her serve after the interval and pushed the 19-year-old to the brink, but Andreeva held for 6-5 with an ace and a backhand winner, then rescued the tiebreak from 4-3 down with the same two shots. Tjen’s forehand went wide on match point. “I feel like in the second set, she started serving better,” Andreeva said.
Marta Kostyuk offered no such drama, edging past wild card Sloane Stephens 7-5, 7-5 on Tony Trabert Stadium 3. Madison Keys was the most efficient of the American contingent, beating No. 33 seed Katerina Siniakova 6-1, 6-3 in 78 minutes on the Grandstand.
Gauff Recovers, Jovic Falls in Two Tiebreaks
Coco Gauff moved to 4-0 all-time against Ann Li with a 6-1, 7-6 (3) win, though the second set was a scramble — she trailed 5-3 before forcing the breaker and then opened a 3-0 lead she never surrendered. “Overall I’m happy with how I played,” Gauff said. “Ann’s not an easy opponent to play. She has a lot of variety in her game so I’m happy to get through.”
The last match of the round was the strangest. No. 22 seed Marie Bouzkova and No. 13 seed Iva Jovic played out an unexpectedly defensive contest in which both sets still reached a tiebreak. Bouzkova took the first 7-0 and the second 7-5.
A Seed Lost Without a Ball Struck
The one round of 32 result decided off the court removed the No. 8 seed. Elina Svitolina withdrew with an ankle injury, handing Wang Xiyu a walkover and a meeting with Keys. It is a costly exit for the Ukrainian with the US Open later this month, and it thins the top quarter still further, leaving Sabalenka with an increasingly clear road.
Results — Round of 32, Women’s Singles
[1] A. Sabalenka d. X. Wang (Xinyu) 6-1, 6-3
[4] C. Gauff d. [28] A. Li 6-1, 7-6 (3)
[5] M. Andreeva d. [32] J. Tjen 6-1, 7-6 (5)
[10] M. Kostyuk d. S. Stephens 7-5, 7-5
[20] M. Keys d. [33] K. Siniakova 6-1, 6-3
[22] M. Bouzkova d. [13] I. Jovic 7-6 (0), 7-6 (5)
S. Bejlek d. [16] E. Alexandrova 4-6, 6-1, 6-2
X. Wang (Xiyu) d. [8] E. Svitolina w/o
