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Xiyu Wang survived the valiant efforts of Viktoria Hruncakova to ensure that a home player remained in the field at the Guangzhou Open in China. On Thursday, playing the last second-round match, Wang beat the Slovakian 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 after two hours and 14 minutes of play.
Hruncakova hit 11 double faults across the match that affected her momentum at crucial times in the match. All of these double faults were spread across the first and third sets. In the second set, she was able to control her serve better and didn’t have any double faults.
Wang won 70% of her first-serve points and 38% of her second-serve points. Her opponent won 66% of her first-serve points and 34% of her second-serve points. Both players combined to create 25 break point chances. Of the 11 break points Wang faced, she saved six while converting six break points on Hruncakova’s serve.
This is the first quarter-final for Wang since she made it to the Transylvania Open quarters in 2022. Looking to reach the semi-finals, the 22-year-old will take on Greet Minnen.
Guangzhou Open: Tatjana Maria, 3rd-biggest name crashes out
The Belgian, the seventh seed this week, ousted fourth seed Lucia Bronzetti in yet another lengthy outing, for the second consecutive day.
Minnen lost the opening set but finished solidly after two hours and 14 minutes with a 6-7(8), 6-4, 6-1 win. In the top half, Yulia Putintseva put an end to Tatjana Maria’s campaign in the Asian swing. The Kazakh upset the third seed from Germany in a three-set tussle that lasted a little more than two hours and 48 hours.
At the end of it all, the score read 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-0 in favour of the unseeded contender. Putintseva’s next opponent at the Guangzhou Open will be top-seeded Pole, Magda Linette. The 31-year-old ranked 27th in the world beat fifth seed Rebeka Masarova 7-5, 7-6(6) after two hours and three hours of play.