WUHAN, China – US Open champion Aryna Sabalenka’s winning streak at the Wuhan Open extended to 19 matches as she defeated Liudmila Samsonova 6-3, 6-2 on Thursday to advance to the quarterfinals of the WTA 1000 tournament.
The top-ranked Sabalenka’s streak includes winning titles in Wuhan in 2018, 2019 and 2024.
Earlier, Jessica Pegula recovered from an early break of service in the third set to beat Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 and advance to the last eight. Sixth-seeded Pegula, who lost in the semifinals of the China Open last week, leveled the deciding set at 2-2 and then won four of the last five matches for victory.
The win over No. 9 Alexandrova came a day after Pegula needed seven match points to beat compatriot Hailey Baptiste in the second round.
It was Pegula’s sixth straight three-set match, and she won for the fifth time.
“I can’t remember the last time I played two sets,” Pegula said. “But I fought really hard and played against a lot of good players. It was different conditions today with the roof closed, and I think it took a while to get used to it.”
In night matches, No. 2 Iga Swiatek would play Belinda Bencic and No. 3 Coco Gauff, who suffered a semifinal defeat to eventual champion Amanda Anisimova at the China Open last week, would face Zhang Shuai.
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