A benchmark victory for Paula Badosa, and a small slap for Jessica Pegula: 6-4, 6-0. the duel ended Tuesday in Beijing in the round of 16. Badosa, seeded N.15, will face in the quarter the winner of the match between the Polish Magdalena Frech and the Chinese Zhang Shuai, 595th in the world.
Pegula, seeded N.2 in the Chinese tournament, was one of the favorites of the competition after her almost faultless run in New York where she was beaten by Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets in the final. But she did not resist the 26-year-old Spaniard, companion of the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, who despite five double faults pocketed the first set before quickly breaking away in the second, leading 3-0.
“It’s special for me, at the end of the season I’m playing really well.” said Badosa after his win. “I beat a top 10 (player), I wanted to have this result I’m happy to be in the quarters, it’s an opportunity for me to do better in the next match“.
In the other part of the table, the Japanese Naomi Osaka, former world number one, faces the American Coco Gauff, 6th in the WTA rankings, on Tuesday in 8th place. Osaka, who has struggled to regain her regularity since her return to tennis in January after the birth of her daughter, is playing her first tournament under the leadership of French coach Patrick Mouratoglou, former coach in particular of the Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis.
Aryna Sabalenka, world No.2 and seeded No.1 in Beijing, will face the American Madison Keys on Wednesday in the round of 16. The Polish Iga Swiatek, at the top of the WTA ranking and title holder, withdrew from “personal reasons“.
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