Beijing: Former World No.1 Garbine Muguruza was beaten 7-5, 6-4 by Aryna Sabalenka in the China Open tennis tournament second round here Tuesday while an ailing Jelena Ostapenko lost 6-0, 6-0 to Wang Qiang.
Sabalenka, who claimed her second title of the season at the Wuhan Open last week, edged a tight opening set and the Belarusian took control in the next to overpower Spaniard Muguruza and secure victory in an hour and 46 minutes.
Former French Open champion Ostapenko struggled with a wrist injury before losing to local hope Wang in 55 minutes. Guangzhou champion Wang, who has won 14 of her last 17 matches, next plays former World No.1 Karolina Pliskova or Aliaksandra Sasnovich. World No.3 Angelique Kerber fought back from 5-3 down in the first set to beat Carla Suarez Navarro 7-6(7-4), 6-1.
US Open champion Naomi Osaka crushed Danielle Collins 6-1, 6-0 to set up a clash with 10th seed Julia Goerges who beat the Japanese the last time they met in Charleston this season. American Sloane Stephens took advantage of an error-prone display by China’s Zheng Saisai to win 6-1, 6-3 and set up a clash with Dominika Cibulkova who beat Daria Gavrilova 6-3, 6-3.
Dimitrov bows out
Third-seeded Grigor Dimitrov from Bulgaria crashed out of the China Open Wednesday after losing to Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic 6-4, 2-6, 6-4. Dimitrov started off poorly, losing his first game, handing the advantage to Lajovic, who went on to clinch the set 6-4. The Bulgarian bounced back in the second to extend the game into the third set, where he once again lost his serve on his way to crash out of the tournament.
Lajovic moves into the quarterfinals, where he will face the winner of the match between Britisher Kyle Edmund and Italy’s Matteo Berrettini.