Preview: Can Sabalenka hold off her competition and sweep Beijing?

Beijing, the penultimate WTA Tour 1000 event of the season, is down to eight quarterfinalists who have yet to lose at the China Open. It’s an eclectic group, featuring three of the top seeds projected to get there, a pair of formidable players trying to recapture former glory, two interlopers ranked outside the Top 100 and a 17-year-old intent on a career breakthrough.

Beijing: Scores | Order of Play | Draws

Where do we stand? Here’s a look at the matchups ahead of Thursday (bottom half) and Friday's (top half) matches:

Top half

No.1 Aryna Sabalenka vs. Karolina Muchova

By the numbers: Sabalenka

Ranking: No.2

Recent record: 15-0

The skinny: After handily defeating Madison Keys 6-4, 6-3 on Wednesday-- it was over in 66 minutes -- Sabalenka is the hottest player in tennis right now, matching her career-best win streak. She won titles in Cincinnati and at the US Open and is halfway to a third straight in Beijing. After winning in New York, Sabalenka made her intentions known: she wants to finish the year at No.1 on the PIF WTA Rankings, and she's doing everything right so far. 

“It’s all about the balance," Sabalenka said. "I had a really great time off after US Open. That’s really important. That helped me to recharge and reset. I’m happy to be playing at my highest level.”

By the numbers: Muchova

Ranking: No.49

Recent record: 9-1

The skinny: Sabalenka won their first match in 2019, but Muchova took the past two, last year in the semifinals at Roland Garros and Cincinnati. Note: Six of their previous eight sets required the victor to win seven games. Injuries have limited her in recent years, but Muchova is a legitimate threat when healthy. She’s been to the quarterfinals of all four majors, the semifinals of three, including last month in New York, and the final at last year’s French Open.

Muchova’s fourth-round 6-2, 6-0 win over Cristina Bucsa lasted only 70 minutes. Going back to her run to the final on the clay in Palermo, Muchova has won 14 of 18 matches.

“I’m going pretty nicely through the tournament,” she said. “Against the best, it’s always very close and you have to win the key points and be focused -- you have one, two chances to get the match. I’ll try to be ready for that and get her off the rhythm, and we will see if that’s going to work here.”

No.2: Zheng Qinwen vs. No.17 Mirra Andreeva

By the numbers: Zheng

Ranking: No.7

Recent record: 19-2

The skinny: The Olympic gold medalist in Paris, Zheng backed that up with a quarterfinal appearance at the US Open and now a clean run at home in Beijing. With the title in Palermo ahead of Paris, Zheng has sustained her dangerous level, notching a 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Amanda Anisimova in the fourth round. After dropping the first set, Zheng stormed back behind her booming serve, striking 14 aces in the match. She’s trying to make her first career WTA 1000 semifinal and move one step closer to becoming the first Chinese woman to win the China Open.

By the numbers: Andreeva

Ranking: No.22

Recent record: 7-2

The skinny:  The 17-year-old defeated Magda Linette 6-1, 6-3, avenging a straight-sets loss at the Paris Olympics. Andreeva had an impressive quarterfinal run in Cincinnati, defeating rising Emma Navarro, former World No.1 Karolina Pliskova and two-time major finalist Jasmine Paolini before falling to Swiatek.

Andreeva on Zheng: “She’s a risky player. She goes for her shots, very aggressive. She takes the ball early. With Qinwen it will be hard with the crowd, but I’ve had those situations before, and I know how to deal with it.”

Bottom half

No.4 Coco Gauff vs. Yuliia Starodubtseva

By the numbers: Gauff

Ranking: No.6

Recent record: 6-1

The skinny: Gauff’s not playing her best tennis but showed some resilience in coming back to win the second set before Naomi Osaka retired from their fourth-round match with a back injury. Gauff’s had a tough summer, losing two of three matches in the WTA 1000 tournaments in Toronto and Cincinnati.

“She’s obviously having a great tournament,” Gauff said of Starodubtseva. “I saw her playing today, and beating Anna [Kalinskaya] is a tough win so I know it’s going to be a great match.”

By the numbers: Starodubtseva

Ranking: No.115

Recent record: 13-2

The skinny: Starodubtseva impressively qualified at all four majors this year, a feat no-one else had achieved in the Open Era. The 24-year-old from Ukraine is on a tear after reaching the quarterfinals in Monastir earlier this month. After coming through qualifying, she knocked off No.10 Kalinskaya 7-5, 6-0, for her first career Top 20 win.

This is Starodubtseva’s first WTA 1000 quarterfinal, and she’s guaranteed a debut in the Top 100 on Monday. “[Monastir] was something I had to go through to toughen up inside my head," she said. “The rest of the season I wasn’t as tough mentally as I feel now on court. I’m more positive and I’m more relaxed.”

No.15 Paula Badosa vs. Zhang Shuai

By the numbers: Badosa

Ranking: No.19

Recent record: 12-2

The skinny: Badosa meets Zhang for the first time. It wasn’t long ago that the 26-year-old Spaniard -- struggling with a serious back injury -- wondered if she’d ever play again. Now look at the former No.2-ranked player. After starting the summer with her first title in over two years at Washington D.C., she’s now reached her third consecutive quarterfinal of a big tournament.

“I want to play the last rounds of every tournament, I want to play the best players in the world,” she said. “That’s what makes me happy, what motivates me every day. I’m doing this lately and I’m very happy about that.” 

By the numbers: Zhang

Ranking: No.595

Recent record: 4-0

The skinny:  It might not look like much, compared to the streaks above, but 4-0 for Zhang is something epic. That’s because she had lost 24 consecutive matches coming into Beijing, where the 35-year-old has taken full advantage of a wild card.

Zhang stunned No.6 seed Emma Navarro in the second round and dismissed No.23 Magdalena Frech in the fourth. “Very tough almost two years, more than one and a half years, without any winning,” Zhang said. “I don't want to stop. I want to continue to win.”