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• Sinner found matters 'mentally tough' against Safiullin

  Jannik Sinner found it "mentally tough" to come from behind and defeat Roman Safiullin at the China Open.

  Sinner forged a second straight comeback to prevail 3-6 6-2 6-3 on Saturday.

  The world number one, who equalled Alexander Zverev by picking up his 57th win of 2024, ensured he kept up his run of reaching at least the quarter-finals in every ATP Tour-level tournament he has reached this season.

  But he certainly did not find it easy against the world number 69.

  "A tough match. He’s an incredible player and we always have tough battles," said Sinner. 

  "This was our third encounter, so we know each other a bit. He returns very well, and he was serving well at important moments. So I tried to keep up mentally, which today was very tough.

  "Especially on these kinds of days, when maybe you don’t feel at your 100%, to find a way through means so much to me.

  "He's an incredible player, so I knew I had to raise my level when it counted."

  While Sinner was on court, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) announced it would be appealing against the decision to clear the Italian of blame after he twice tested positive for a banned substance.

  WADA claimed last month's ruling, which was made by an independent tribunal, which found Sinner had no case to answer was "not correct", and the organisation has now appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), seeking a ban of between one and two years for the 23-year-old.

  Sinner "Obviously I'm very disappointed and also surprised of this appeal because we had three hearings. All three hearings came out very positively for me.

  "I knew it a couple of days ago, that they were going to appeal, that today it's going to go official."

• Sabalenka closes in on win-streak record after China Open triumph

  Aryna Sabalenka moved to within two wins of equalling the best winning run of her career after crushing qualifier Mananchaya Sawangkaew at the China Open.

  In her first appearance since her US Open triumph, the top seed overcame a slow start in Beijing to win 6-4 6-1 in an hour and 16 minutes against her Thai opponent. 

  Sawangkaew did not make life easy for the Belarusian in the opener, breaking back to level the contest heading into the ninth game before Sabalenka took control. 

  The world number two then clicked into gear, winning five games in a row in the second set to roar to a 13th straight victory, though she acknowledged the difficulties she faced on Saturday.

  "She's playing great tennis. The first set she played incredible tennis. It was really difficult playing against her," Sabalenka said. 

  "Especially on this surface in these conditions. I'm happy I was able to manage that set. In the second set, everything started coming together.

  "Thank you so much for the support. It’s really amazing to be back here. I'm happy with this win."

  Sabalenka will face Ashlyn Krueger in the next round after the American beat Wimbledon quarter-finalist Lulu Sun in straight sets. 

  Data Debrief: Sabalenka continues China love story

  Sabalenka has won 18 of her first 21 matches in WTA-1000 tournaments in China, the most of any player since the format's introduction in 2009.

  Since Tianjin 2017, when she made her debut at a tournament in China, no women's player has won more matches at WTA events in this country than Sabalenka (38).

• Sinner overcomes Safiullin test to reach China Open quarters

  Jannik Sinner came from a set down once again to reach the quarter-finals of the China Open, beating Roman Safiullin in three sets on Saturday. 

  After coming from behind in the last round against Nicolas Jarry, the Italian showed his powers of recovery once more, emerging a 3-6 6-2 6-3 victor in just over two hours. 

  The world number one immediately found himself on the back foot, with Safiullin breaking his opening service game before grasping the early advantage with both hands. 

  But as he did against Jarry, Sinner responded emphatically in the second, serving three of his four aces during the contest, including two love games, to send the encounter to a decider. 

  From then on, the Italian never looked back. An early break set the tone, and despite missing one match point, the world number one booked his place in the last eight at the second time of asking against his plucky opponent. 

  Sinner's next assignment will be Jiri Lehecka, who overcame qualifier Roberto Bautista Agut in three sets. 

  Data Debrief: Comeback King

  Sinner is now 9-2 on the ATP Tour in 2024 after losing the first set, with one loss coming in Monte Carlo to Stefanos Tsitsipas, who went on to win the tournament, and the other against Andrey Rublev in Montreal. 

  But the Italian was far from his free-flowing best. He served up three double faults compared to Safiullin's two but did convert four of the break points he was presented with.