BEIJING, SEPT 29 – A disappointed Aryna Sabalenka started the China Open with a 6-4, 6-1 win over tough Thai qualifier Mananchaya Sawangkaew yesterday.
The top seed and world number two will face New Zealand’s 29th seed Lulu Sun or Ashlyn Krueger of the United States in the third round in Beijing.
After winning the US Open, the Belarusian had to work hard against an opponent ranked 187th in the world and played the biggest match of his young career.
22-year-old Mananchaya may be inexperienced at this level but the Thai athlete refuses to give up.
Mananchaya struggled even on her serve and three-time major champion Sabalenka broke to take the first set 4-2.
The Thai player was not easily defeated by Sabalenka’s great strength, and even managed to break back immediately, greeted with cheers from the crowd in Beijing.
The error-prone Sabalenka couldn’t find her rhythm but managed to create the first set point on the Thai player’s serve. However, Sabalenka made a mistake when hitting a simple volley that went wide.
He made no mistakes in the second chance and then managed to break to take a 3-1 lead in the second set.
Sabalenka barely cracked a smile at the end of the match. – AFP
