Aryna Sabalenka to face Britain's Katie Boulter after crushing Sofia Kenin in Beijing, Marketa Vondrousova stunned
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Updated 01/10/2023 at 22:27 GMT
After becoming world No. 1 following the US Open - where she lost to Coco Gauff in the final - Aryna Sabalenka returned to action in China. She defeated Sofia Kenin in straight sets to set up a second-round tie against Britain's Katie Boulter. Elsewhere, Ukraine's Anhelina Kalinina defeated the Czech Republic's Marketa Vondrousova to reach the second round of the tournament.
Aryna Sabalenka
Image credit: Eurosport
Aryna Sabalenka cruised past Sofia Kenin at the China Open on Sunday to set up a clash with Britain's Katie Boulter, while Marketa Vondrousova was shocked by Anhelina Kalinina.
The match was Sabalenka's first since her final appearance at the US Open, and she needed just 67 minutes for the victory.
Despite losing to Coco Gauff in New York, Sabalenka nonetheless established herself at the top of the world rankings, and her latest win offers revenge after she suffered a defeat to Kenin at the Rome Masters earlier in the season.
She will face Boulter next in the third round, after the British No. 1 ousted Magdalena Frech with a 6-4 3-6 6-2 victory in two hours and 14 minutes.
Kenin has been in good form of late, reaching the San Diego final and the Guadalajara semi-finals, but Sabalenka was in typically dominant form as she sent down 22 winners compared to only nine unforced errors, with her opponent managing just seven winners across the encounter.
Sabalenka, with the Australian Open to her name this year, did not face a break point throughout the entire match.
"Honestly, I didn't expect to play that good on my serve," Sabalenka said. "In practice, it didn't work that well. But I was super happy that I was able to bring that level on my serve today. I think it's helped a lot.
"I think she didn't even expect that great serving game. So I think that was the key of today's match."
In another China Open first-round match, world No. 28 Anhelina Kalinina beat Wimbledon champion Vondrousova in a 1-6 6-4 6-1 comeback win.
Vondrousova impressed in the first set but failed to take advantage of a break point in the second set, and was later broken herself. Kalinina pressed home her advantage with her own break point to go 4-3 up, and then lost just another two games to seal her win.
Kalinina will take on Daria Saville in the second round.
World No. 10 Barbora Krejcikova lost 6-2 6-2 to 16-year-old sensation Mirra Andreeva, while Jelena Ostapenko beat Eva Lys 2-6 6-3 6-2.
Petra Kvitova, seeded 12th, battled through with a 6-7(6) 7-5 6-3 win over Xiyu Wang.
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