Aryna Sabalenka remains on the road to success. The Belarusian defeated Garbine Muguruza in two sets in the second round of the WTA Premier Mandatory tournament in Beijing.
It is not often that an unseeded player goes into a duel as the favourite, in which on the other side of the net there is a two-time major winner and also a player who is ahead in the tableau. At the WTA Premier Mandatory tournament in Beijing, however, the roles between Aryna Sabalenka and Garbine Muguruza were reversed.
And Sabalenka, who had celebrated her greatest career success in Wuhan on Saturday, did not disappoint. The 20-year-old Belarusian won the duel with Muguruza after 106 minutes with 7:5 and 6:4. Sabalenka will thus face defending champions Caroline Garcia in the round of 16, who beat Polona Hercog.
In addition to Angelique Kerber (who defeated Carla Suarez Navarro) and Julia Görges, who had already qualified for the round of sixteen on Tuesday after Lesia Tsurenko’s retirement, Sloane Stephens, Kiki Bertens and Kiki Bertens were three other favourites.
A surprise final like the one in Wuhan between Sabalenka and Anett Kontaveit (the Estonian is also among the last 16 after a three-set win over Laura Siegemund) is not out of the question, but unlikely.
Here is the single tableau in Beijing