In Thursday night\u2019s first match, No. 2-seeded Iga Swiatek became the fifth WTA 1000 champion to advance to the quarterfinals at the Dongfeng Voyah \u00b7 Wuhan Open. In the nightcap, No. 3 Coco Gauff made it six.<\/p>\n
Gauff was a 6-3, 6-2 winner over Chinese wild card Zhang Shuai, while Swiatek defeated No. 13 Belinda Bencic 7-6 (2), 6-4.<\/p>\n
They could meet in the semifinals, but first there is the matter of Friday\u2019s supercharged quarterfinals.<\/p>\n
Swiatek meets No. 7 Jasmine Paolini, who came back to defeat No. 10 Clara Tauson 3-6, 6-1, 3-1 via retirement.<\/p>\n
Gauff has an unexpected match against unseeded Laura Siegemund, who advanced with a 6-4, 7-6 (2) win over Magdalena Frech. At 37, and the oldest player left in the draw, the German is looking for her second Top 10 win of the tournament following a second-round upset of No. 5 Mirra Andreeva.<\/p>\n
Playing Wuhan for the first time, Swiatek has looked a lot like a six-time Grand Slam champion. The win over Bencic was the 125th WTA 1000 victory of her young career, and Friday will be her 25th WTA 1000 quarterfinal.<\/p>\n
Swiatek finished with eight aces and converted four of six break-point opportunities in a match that clocked in at 2 hours and 8 minutes.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor sure I wanted to play with confidence and make great decisions and not let her dictate,\u201d Swiatek said in her on-court interview after the match. \u201cIt was super hard and every game was tough. That\u2019s why it was two sets in over two hours. I\u2019m happy that I was there in the deciding moments to be solid and play one more shot.\u201d<\/p>\n
This was Swiatek\u2019s fifth win in six matches against Bencic, but it did not come easily. Since giving birth to daughter Bella in the spring of 2024, the Swiss player has steadily returned to her championship form. She was the winner in Abu Dhabi back in February and reached the semifinals at Wimbledon, losing to eventual champion Swiatek.<\/p>\n
After dropping the first three games to Swiatek, Bencic came back to win five of six games and found herself serving for the first set at 5-4. Two loose forehands, however, gave Swiatek the equalizing break.<\/p>\n
The tiebreak wasn\u2019t competitive. Bencic has made a career of taking the ball early, playing fast and aggressively. But in this instance, Swiatek was sharper. With Bencic serving at 2-4, Swiatek was standing inside the baseline when she sent a first serve back with an eye-opening forehand winner. Winning her third straight point, Swiatek converted her first set point.<\/p>\n
In the second set, the two were even at 3-all when Swiatek made her move. A snappy forehand winner, followed by another faulty forehand from Bencic, gave her the decisive break.<\/p>\n
Gauff\u2019s victory wasn\u2019t nearly as taxing — it was over in one hour. At 21, some 15 years younger than Shuai, Gauff scored a break in the sixth game of the opening set and was never seriously threatened.<\/p>\n
Through two matches, Gauff has dropped only six games. She won 60 of 100 points against Shuai.<\/p>\n
Into her second consecutive quarterfinal in Wuhan, Gauff has now won all four matches against Shuai; over the past three years, no woman has won more times (19) in China.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a little bit up and down,\u201d Gauff acknowledged in her on-court interview. \u201cBut happy to be into the next round.\u201d<\/p>\n
Swiatek, 24, is looking for her 12th career WTA 1000 title. The 11th came this summer in Cincinnati, where she defeated Paolini in the final. Swiatek has won all six previous matches against Paolini, five of them in straight sets.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s customary for players to thank fans at the championship trophy ceremony, but after her opening win Swiatek felt compelled to express her appreciation to the crowd.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s always nice to get support during the match,\u201d Swiatek explained. \u201cAnd in China, I feel it more than in other countries. So yeah, just happy to be here, and hopefully I\u2019m going to be able to experience that as much as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
And now, she\u2019ll live to experience that support for at least another day.<\/p>\n
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