China Open: Sabalenka, Sinner move forward, Zheng Qinwen starts strong

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus returns a shot during the women's singles second round match against Mananchaya Sawangkaew of Thailand at 2024 China Open tennis tournament in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 28, 2024. (Xinhua/Zhang Chenlin)

Top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus and Italy's Jannik Sinner both claimed victories in the second round at the China Open, while China's Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen also sailed through to next round.

BEIJING, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- Top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus and Italy's Jannik Sinner claimed victories in the second round, while China's Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen defeated Kamilla Rakhimova of Russia at the China Open here on Saturday.

Sabalenka, 26, who took the women's singles title in both the Australian Open and US Open this year, sealed a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Mananchaya Sawangkaew of Thailand.

"She [Sawangkaew] played a lot of tricky shots which were much slower, and I was trying to find my return," Sabalenka said after the match. "I have a lot of great memories from China, which bring me more motivation to compete on my highest level and make sure I can stay till the very last stage of the tournament."

Zheng Qinwen hits a return during the women's singles second round match against Kamilla Rakhimova of Russia at 2024 China Open tennis tournament in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 28, 2024. (Xinhua/Zhang Chenlin)

Fifth-seeded Chinese sensation Zheng Qinwen got a first round bye and dominated Kamilla Rakhimova of Russia 6-1, 6-1 in the second round. The 21-year-old Olympic champion pocketed the victory with the warm support at home.

"The atmosphere was insane because I never thought it would be so full, nearly no empty seat. I am pretty happy with my performance compared to the last year here at China Open, and let's see where I can go this time," Zheng remarked.

Other Chinese players Yuan Yue and Wei Sijia were both eliminated in straight sets in the women's singles second round.

Also on Saturday, third-seeded Jasmine Paolini of Italy went through a tough game to beat Denmark's Clara Tauson 1-6, 7-5, 6-4. The 28-year-old Italian will confront Magda Linette of Poland in the third round.

Jannik Sinner hits a return during the men's singles second round match against Roman Safiullin of Russia at 2024 China Open tennis tournament in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 28, 2024. (Xinhua/Zhang Chenlin)

In the men's singles, world No. 1 Sinner bounced back from one set down to beat Roman Safiullin from Russia 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.

"It was similar to the first-round match. I struggled a little bit, especially with my serve in the first set. He [Safiullin] was returning very well and playing very strong from the baseline. I just tried to react. I changed a couple of things in the second set, which then helped me get in the rhythm of the match," Sinner recalled.

"Of course, if I want to win the next round, I have to raise my level," added the 23-year-old Sinner who will meet Jiri Lehecka from the Czech Republic.

On Sunday, Spain's Carlos Alcaraz will confront Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands, while China's wildcard veteran Zhang Shuai will match up with Greet Minnen of Belgium. ■