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Agence France-Presse

The 49th-ranked Karolina Muchova has stunned top seed Aryna Sabalenka in three sets to reach the China Open semi-finals on Friday.
The Czech player won 7-6 (7/5), 2-6, 6-4 and will now face China’s Zheng Qinwen for a place in the final.
Olympic champion Zheng rallied to beat Mirra Andreeva of Russia and keep alive her bid to become Beijing’s first home-grown champion.
The fifth-seeded Zheng had to fight back from a break down in the final set to win 5-7, 6-0, 6-4 and became the first Chinese semi-finalist in Beijing since Wang Qiang in 2018.
Last year’s US Open champion, Coco Gauff, plays Spain’s former world No 2 Paula Badosa in the other semi-final in Beijing.

Current world No 2 Sabalenka was on a streak of 15 victories in a row, claiming titles in Cincinnati and then the US Open for the first time.
However, the Belarusian had previously had trouble with Muchova, who this time last year was inside the top 10 before injury struck.
US Open semi-finalist Muchova had won the past two meetings between them, with both matches going to a deciding set.
This encounter proved to be just as tight.
This time last year 28-year-old Muchova was ranked ninth in the world having reached the French Open final and semi-finals at Flushing Meadows.
But her 2023 season ended after the US Open because of wrist surgery and she did not play for nearly 10 months until returning this summer.
In the later match in front of an expectant packed house at the 15,000-capacity Diamond Court, Russia’s Andreeva silenced the home crowd and fought off a comeback from Zheng to win the first set.
The second set was all Zheng, the world No 7 who is playing her first tournament back home in China since winning Paris gold.
The occasion seemed to get to the teenage Russian, who had tears in her eyes as she served at the start of the deciding set.
At 3-2 up the 22nd-ranked Russian had a medical timeout and was tearful again as she had strapping applied to her left wrist.
She recovered her poise for 4-2 but Zheng rattled off three games in a row and served for the match, sealing the triumph on first match point when Andreeva’s return drifted beyond the baseline.
After reaching her first semi-final in the Chinese capital, the 21-year-old Zheng said she had played only “20-30 per cent of my level”.
“I told myself: I am not going to win today by my tennis. I am going to win by my mentality,” Zheng said.
She was not aware of the emotions of her opponent, but said: “I cry a thousand times every time when I had a chance [and did not take it].
“But I don’t usually cry during the match. I cry after the match.”

In Shanghai, world No 1 Jannik Sinner said on Friday he was not in a “comfortable” situation as his doping case dragged on, but insisted he felt ready for his first match at the Shanghai Masters.
Last week the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) said it would appeal against a decision by tennis authorities to clear the Italian of wrongdoing after he twice tested positive for a steroid in March.
The 23-year-old fought through the controversy to reach the final of the China Open in Beijing on Wednesday, when he lost to arch-rival Carlos Alcaraz of Spain.
“It’s not in a situation where I feel comfortable in it, that’s for sure, because I thought it was over … so it’s not easy,” said Sinner when asked at a press conference if the pressure of the appeal was affecting him.
In August, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) accepted Sinner’s explanation that the drug entered his system unintentionally when his physiotherapist used a spray containing it to treat a cut, then provided massage and sports therapy to the player.
But Wada said last Saturday it had appealed and was seeking a ban of up to two years.
Sinner will face Japan’s 93rd-ranked Taro Daniel in his first match of the tournament this weekend, while Alcaraz will face world No 51 Shang Juncheng, China’s second-ranked player after Zhang Zhizhen (41st).
In second-round matches played on Friday, Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and American duo Ben Shelton and Tommy Paul all eased through with straight-sets victories.
However, there was a surprise as 91st-ranked Aleksandar Vukic stunned the eighth-seeded Casper Ruud 6-4, 6-4 for the biggest victory of his career.


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ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals)

China Open: Zheng Qinwen in comeback win after Aryna Sabalenka loses to Karolina Muchova

China’s Zheng Qinwen celebrates her victory over Mirra Andreeva of Russia, saying later she had played to only “20-30 per cent of my level”. Photo: Xinhua

Czechia’s Karolina Muchova had also won the previous two meetings with Aryna Sabalenka. Photo: AP

Italy’s Jannik Sinner says he is confident that things will come out “very positively” for him. Photo: AFP

China Open men’s final: Carlos Alcaraz fights back to beat Jannik Sinner in thriller

Carlos Alcaraz celebrates after defeating Jannik Sinner in the China Open final in Beijing. Photo: AFP

Carlos Alcaraz (right) greets runner-up Jannik Sinner during the trophy ceremony. Photo: EPA-EFE

China Open: Jannik Sinner defies doping case to make last 4, Zheng Qinwen through to last 16

Italy’s Jannik Sinner hits a return to Czech Republic’s Jiri Lehecka in their quarter-final at the China Open in Beijing on Monday. Photo: AFP

China’s Zheng Qinwen hits a return against Nadia Podoroska of Argentina. Photo: Xinhua

Who is tennis player Anna Kalinskaya, world No 1 Jannik Sinner’s GF and Nick Kyrgios’ ex?

US Open winner Jannik Sinner and Anna Kalinskaya are dating. Photos: Getty Images, @annakalinskaya78/Instagram

Anna Kalinskaya watches the men’s singles semi-finals of the US Open tennis championships, during which Jannik Sinner played against Jack Draper. Photo: AP

Anna Kalinskaya at the 2024 US Open in August. Photo: Getty Images

Anna Kalinskaya is currently world No 14 in tennis. Photo: Getty Images

Anna Kalinskaya is reportedly not on good terms with ex-boyfriend Nick Kyrgios. Photo: @annakalinskaya78/Instagram

US Open: Jannik Sinner plays through doping cloud to beat Taylor Fritz for second major

Jannik Sinner, who won the Australian Open in January, is the first man since Guillermo Vilas in 1977 to win his first two grand slam trophies in the same season. Photo: Xinhua

Taylor Fritz had hoped to be the first American man win to win a grand slam title since 2003. Photo: dpa

Singer Taylor Swift (rear, left) was in the stands with boyfriend, gridiron player Travis Kelce. Photo: Xinhua

Tennis world No 1 Jannik Sinner cleared of wrongdoing after failed drug tests, ITIA says

Italian Jannik Sinner, who won the recent Cincinnati Open, tested positive during a tournament in Indian Wells in March. Photo: dpa

Sinner won his first grand slam title when he beat Daniil Medvedev at January’s Australian Open. Photo: AP

Sport

Tennis

Belarusian’s defeat opens pathway for Chinese Olympic champion; in Shanghai, Jannik Sinner not feeling ‘comfortable’ as doping case drags on


Belarusian’s defeat opens pathway for Chinese Olympic champion; in Shanghai, Jannik Sinner not feeling ‘comfortable’ as doping case drags on.
