WTA

Osaka suffers early exit to Muchova as Halep eases through in Madrid

By Sports Desk May 02, 2021

Naomi Osaka suffered a shock second-round exit to Karolina Muchova at the Madrid Open, but there was no such trouble for Simona Halep as she held off Zheng Saisai.

Second seed Osaka was playing just her second match on clay since the 2019 French Open due to injury issues and became the latest big name to fall at the hands of Muchova.

The world number 20, who had already defeated two top-five players this season, prevailed 6-4 3-6 6-1 in a time of one hour and 49 minutes in the Spanish capital.

Osaka has now lost two of her last three matches, having been eliminated from the Miami Open quarter-finals by Maria Sakkari at the end of March.

"I think today for me it was quite different from the last time I lost in Miami, and I actually think I played much better here, so I'm very happy about that," Osaka said.

"I think what I can take away from this is that I tried my best throughout the entire match. I think tennis-wise, I felt I was too defensive in the first set.

"I wouldn't say I’m happy that I lost, but I think I learned a lot. So that's all I can hope for."

Two-time champion Halep has yet to drop a set in this year's tournament after seeing off unseeded opponent Zheng 6-0 6-4.

Halep took nine games in a row at the start of the match but, like in her opening-round win over Sara Sorribes Tormo, she had to hold off a late surge from her opponent to advance.

Next up for Halep is a last-16 showdown with Elise Mertens, who beat Elena Rybakina 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 in the last of Sunday's matches.

Fifth seed Aryna Sabalenka safely advanced earlier in the day thanks to a 6-3 6-3 win against Daria Kasatkina, while Sakkari beat Anett Kontaveit 6-3 6-1.

Sabalenka was on course to face Victoria Azarenka for a place in the quarter-finals, but the Belarussian withdrew from her match with Jessica Pegula because of a back injury.

Elsewhere, Jennifer Brady, who knocked out fellow American Venus Williams in the first round, eased past Jelena Ostapenko 6-2 6-1.

Brady faces a tricky test in the next round with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who defeated sixth seed Karolina Pliskova 6-0 7-5, seeking another scalp.

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    Coco Gauff said her China Open triumph over Karolina Muchova came down to being relaxed.

    Gauff won 6-1 6-3 in just 76 minutes in Beijing to become the youngest winner of the tournament in 14 years.

    The victory marked the 20-year-old's second WTA 1000 title, which makes her the second-youngest player since the format was introduced to win her first two finals.

    And Gauff explained she took a more relaxed approach in Sunday's showdown.

    "I was just like, 'This match is not going to change my life.' I knew regardless of the result today, I was proud. I was able to overcome and still work on things that I've been practising on, too, and stick to it," she said.

    "When you get that far, you're just happy to be in the final. I think it's just being relaxed. My first final, when I was 15, was the worst because you're like, 'I'm never going to get this opportunity again,' which is completely not true.

    "The experience of winning in the past, I realise that, yes, winning is great. It feels great right now. But tomorrow I'm going to wake up and it's a different day, 70% of the world doesn't know anything about whether I won or lost, probably even more."

    Gauff has now claimed three straight wins over Muchova, who is yet to beat the American.

    "I lost to her three times in a row. I'll say very similar losses. It was always the latest rounds of the tournaments when I got many matches under the belt," said Muchova.

    "It's very physical with her. I felt like second [best] always in the rallies."

  • Alcaraz passes stern Wu test to progress in Shanghai 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 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.

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