China’s last two representatives at the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open were both sent crashing out of the tournament on Wednesday, as No 1 seed Belinda Bencic marched on.
The first match of the day on centre court at the Victoria Park Tennis Stadium saw Anna Kalinskaya put veteran Zhang Shuai to the sword with a comprehensive 6-1, 6-1 victory.
Kalinskaya was then followed by Switzerland’s Bencic, who took down veteran Wang Yafan in one hour and 16 minutes.
Bencic came to Hong Kong off the back of winning the Japan Open, and her 6-2, 6-2 triumph marks her sixth victory in a row.
“I felt good on the court,” Bencic said. “I tried to play aggressively, tried to play my game, and it worked out well. So I’m very happy to take the momentum with me.”
Zhang Shuai hits a return to Anna Kalinskaya in their round-of-16 match at Victoria Park. Photo: AFP
Bencic’s run of wins comes off the back of her missing most of the 2024 season because she gave birth to her first child.