WUHAN: World number two Aryna Sabalenka said on Wednesday she believes her rivalry with top-ranked Iga Swiatek is “much-needed” in women’s tennis. The Belarusian advanced to the Wuhan Open third round by beating Katerina Siniakova 6-4, 6-4, her 50th victory of the season. Swiatek is absent from the field in Wuhan and withdrew from the China swing after splitting with her coach of three years Tomasz Wiktorowski.

Sabalenka has a chance to close the gap on the Polish world number one with a strong run in Wuhan, with the battle for the top spot likely to come down to the wire at the season-ending championships in Riyadh next month. “Having this rivalry with Iga is something big for tennis and something much-needed, I would say, in women’s tennis,” said Sabalenka, who will face Yulia Putintseva in the last 16. “To keep this competition going would be really good for tennis,” she said.

Sabalenka, 26, spent eight weeks at the summit of the rankings last season and says reclaiming the world number one spot is one of her biggest goals. “I hope she’ll figure out the coach situation and she’ll be back in the finals in her best shape,” she said. “Hopefully we can play against each other there in... a fight for world number one.” Coco Gauff followed up her China Open title in Beijing on Sunday with a smooth 6-1, 6-2 win over Viktoriya Tomova. Gauff has a seven-match winning streak and faces 13th seed Marta Kostyuk in the last 16.

Kostyuk received a walkover after her opponent Amanda Anisimova withdrew with a left hip injury. “Both mentally and physically I’m a little tired, if I’m being honest,” said Gauff. “But when I got on the court, I felt fine. “How I approached Beijing, I was like, I want to approach this how I would play tennis as a kid. “Sometimes I try to go back into that mindset and realize at the end of the day this is my dream now, and it was my dream as a kid.” Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova crashed out to American qualifier and world number 102 Hailey Baptiste 6-3, 7-5 in just 94 minutes.

Seventh seed Krejcikova let a 3-1 lead slip in the opening set, as well as a 5-3 advantage in the second. The 22-year-old Baptiste will next take on Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova for a place in the quarter-finals. Hometown hero Zheng Qinwen moved past Jaqueline Cristian 6-2, 6-4 to book a third-round meeting with Canadian left-hander Leylah Fernandez. The victory boosts Olympic champion Zheng’s qualification chances for the WTA Finals in Riyadh as she tries to become the first Chinese player since Li Na in 2013 to reach the season-ending championships. — AFP