After navigating two tricky rounds, No.2 seed Aryna Sabalenka delivered an commanding performance Friday to dismiss Magdalena Frech 6-2, 6-2 in the Dongfeng Voyah · Wuhan Open quarterfinals.
Wuhan: Scores | Schedule | Draws
Sabalenka needed two tight sets to get past Katerina Siniakova in the second round and battled to overcome Yulia Putintseva from a set down in the third. But against Frech, Sabalenka fired 42 winners in 16 games and wrapped up the victory in 1 hour and 23 minutes.
The two-time defending champion extended her unbeaten record in Wuhan to 15 wins and no losses to surge into her eighth semifinal of 2024. She will face No.4 seed and Beijing champion Coco Gauff for the eighth time. The pair's last two meetings both came on the Grand Slam stage, with Gauff triumphing in the 2023 US Open final and Sabalenka responding with victory in this year's Australian Open semifinals. Gauff leads the overall head-to-head 4-3.
Head to Head
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Barrage of winners: In contrast to her match against Putintseva, Sabalenka raced out of the blocks against Frech. She struck a clean return winner on the first point of the match to set the tone, and by the time she had leaped out to a 4-0 lead, she had tallied 14 winners from every part of the court already. That number had reached 22 by the end of the first set.
The second set wasn't quite as spectacular in terms of Sabalenka's shotmaking variety, but it did showcase her sharp match management. She sealed a 3-0 double-break lead after repeatedly finding winners to deny Frech on five game points. The Pole broke for the first time in the following game, and held two points to level at 3-3 -- but Sabalenka held off the comeback attempt in fine style again.
Unpredictable rivalry: This is the fifth straight season in which Sabalenka and Gauff have faced off, and their rivalry has been a wild and unpredictable ride all the way. Here's how it breaks down.
- Gauff leads 4-3 overall, including 3-2 on outdoor hard courts. They have previously played on three continents, North America, Europe and Oceania, but this wil be their first meeting in Asia.
- Four out of their seven meetings so far have gone to three sets, with Gauff winning three out of those. Scoreline fluctuations and plot twists have often characterized these matches. At Ostrava 2020, Sabalenka came from 5-2 down in the third set to win 1-6, 7-5, 7-6(2); in the third round of Toronto 2022, Gauff denied Sabalenka 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(4) from 3-0 down in the decider. The latter is the longest match they have played at 3 hours and 11 minutes.
- While Gauff has the edge when the pair go the distance, Sabalenka has won two out of their three straight-set contests. That includes their shortest match to date, a 64-minute 6-4, 6-0 rout in the 2023 Indian Wells quarterfinals.
- While their first five meetings all took place in the quarterfinals of earlier of a tournament, Saturday's matchup will mark their third straight in the semifinals or later.
