Elena Rybakina has reached the quarter-finals of Wimbledon for a third straight year, with her progress to the last eight accelerated after opponent Anna Kalinskaya was forced to retire with an injury in the second set.
Fourth seed Rybakina was in complete control of the fourth-round match on Centre Court, leading 6-3 3-0 before Kalinskaya had to call time on the contest after 53 minutes of play, halting what had been her best career run at the tournament.
"Definitely not the way I wanted to finish the match," said Rybakina after her win.
"Anna is a great player. I know she was suffering with a couple of injuries and, if it is the wrist, it is of course very difficult to continue playing. I just wish her a speedy recovery."
Rybakina had also won the last contest between the two players – in Rome last year – due to a retirement from Kalinskaya.
With a strong grass-court record and as one of only two players seeded in the top 10 left in the women's singles tournament, Rybakina is seen as the favourite and player to beat in the second week. She will face either Elina Svitolina next.
Data Debrief: Rybakina in elite company
With a remarkable 18-2 match record at Wimbledon, Rybakina is now one of just three players in the Open Era to hold a win percentage of 90% or higher in the women’s singles.
The other two players are, like Rybakina, former Wimbledon champions: Ann Jones (12-1) and Steffi Graf (74-7).
While Rybakina thrives on grass, she has also impressed on other surfaces and she has now reached the quarter-final or better in 11 of her 12 tournaments played this season.
Aside from Rybakina, Iga Swiatek is the only other player over the past three seasons to hold a match win percentage of over 70% on all three surfaces at WTA level.
Alcaraz passes stern Wu test to progress in Shanghai
Carlos Alcaraz held his nerve against a spirited Wu Yibing to progress to the fourth round of the Shanghai Masters.
Having already beaten another of the home favourites, Shang Juncheng, in his opener, the Spaniard had to dig deep but prevailed 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 in one hour and 41 minutes on Sunday.
There was nothing to split the two in the opening set, though Wu caused some real problems with his power, and successfully defended two break points in the ninth game.
The tie-break was also tight, but Alcaraz found his edge at the right time, winning the last three points.
Buoyed by the home crowd, Wu started the second set strongly too, but Alcaraz absorbed the pressure well and got the only break of the match in a three-game winning run.
With his winning streak extended, Alcaraz will now face either Gael Monfils or Ugo Humbert in the next round.
Data Debrief: Alcaraz marches on
Alcaraz has put his shock US Open exit firmly behind him, with this his 11th win on the bounce since then.
He coped well with the early pressure Wu threw at him, and put in another solid performance, hitting 11 aces and winning 71% of his points at the net (5/7).
Gauff races to second title of 2024 with China Open cruise
Coco Gauff claimed the China Open title in emphatic fashion on Sunday, bringing up her second WTA Tour trophy of the season.
The world number six defeated US Open semi-finalist Karolina Muchova 6-1 6-3 in just 76 minutes to be crowned the youngest winner of the China Open in 14 years.
Gauff swiftly broke the Czech's serve to propel herself into a 2-0 lead before going on to dominate the first set, which lasted only half-an-hour.
Muchova looked to be surmounting a comeback in the second set, breaking immediately, but Gauff fought straight back, and the American broke Muchova once more to race to victory in Beijing.
It was an impressive win against an opponent who had defeated world number two Aryna Sabalenka and Olympic gold medallist Zheng Qinwen en route to the final. Gauff played 24 winning shots but restricted the world number 49 to just 14.
It marked Gauff's second WTA 1000 title, making her the second-youngest player since the format was introduced to win her first two finals, only older than Bianca Andreescu.
Data Debrief: Gauff a proven winner
Gauff, who was playing her 101st WTA 1000 match, is now the first player to win each of her first seven WTA hard-court finals in the Open Era.
Her victory meant she became the second American player to win the women's singles title at the China Open after Serena Williams (in 2004 and 2013 since the inception of the tournament in 2004.
Gauff has now defeated Muchova in all three meetings in WTA events, previously beating her at the US Open and Cincinnati Open in 2023.
Sinner battles back again to progress in Shanghai
Jannik Sinner came from a set down to overcome Tomas Martin Etcheverry to progress at the Shanghai Masters.
Sinner, who came from behind in both of his first two matches at the China Open, where he eventually lost in the final to Carlos Alcaraz, had to showcase his fighting spirit once more on Sunday.
The world number one eventually prevailed 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 6-2, requiring two hours and 39 minutes to get the job done.
Standing in the way of Sinner and a place in the quarter-finals will be either Roberto Carballes Baena or Ben Shelton.
Earlier on Sunday, Daniil Medvedev also came from behind to claim a 5-7 6-4 6-4 victory over Matteo Arnaldi.
"It was a very tough match, a very close one," said Medvedev. "I actually felt like that’s where tennis is funny. I felt like in the first set, I was probably the better player, had more opportunities. I didn’t manage to [win] it, played a bad game at the end of the set.
"In the other sets, I thought it was closer. Maybe even he had the edge on some of the moments, but that's why tennis is crazy.
"You can win when you don’t expect it, and lose when you expect to win, so I’m happy to be here again in two days."
Data Debrief: Master of the Masters
Moving to a record 74-26, only four players since the format's introduction in 1990 have claimed more wins from their first 100 ATP 1000 matches than Sinner (74).
Sinner is behind only Rafael Nadal (83), Stefan Edberg (77), Pete Sampras (76) and Jim Courier (75).
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