China Open: Aryna Sabalenka to meet 'rival' who gave her the most painful defeats

After winning 15 matches in a row world No 2 Aryna Sabalenka will now face Karolina Muchova in the China Open. The Belarusian defeated Madison Keys 6-4, 6-3 in straight sets which took around 65 minutes. Now she entered the round of 8 and will go against Karolina Muchova who defeated Cristina Bucsa 6-2, 6-0 in the round of 16. 

The Belarusian’s last defeat came on August 10 in the Canadian Open quarter-finals. The three-time grand slam winner won 46 of her 57 matches in 2024 which is a highly successful year for her. In her unbeaten run, Sabalenka claimed the US Open 2024 and Cincinnati Open championships.

Aryna is looking to become World Number 1 again by winning the China Open tournament. The current World Number 1 Iga Swiatek is out of the China Open tournament due to personal matters. Sabalenka is the Favourite to win the China Open title.

Rival who gave two painful defeats

Last year in the 2023 Roland Garros Tournament Sabalenka and Muchova played the semi-finals game. Sabalenka was 5-2 lead against the Czech player and it appeared to be an easy win for the Belarusian. Everyone thought it would be a Sabalenka vs Swiatek finals match. 

But Aryna lost her match point in the Eighth game and then lost back-to-back serves and also the match by 7-6 (5), 6-7(5), and 7-5 to the Czech tennis player. This defeat came as a shock to her as she was very hopeful of winning the tournament.

Two months later she lost the 2023 Cincinnati Open semifinals match against the same opponent by 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-2. She only won one match against Muchova when they met in the 2019 WTA Elite trophy meeting. Karolina Muchova now leads 2-1 against Aryna Sabalenka in head-to-head.

For the China Open, many still believe Aryna is the favourite to win the trophy but in tennis, anything should not be taken for granted. Let us see if the World No. 2 can bounce back against the rival who gave her two painful defeats last year. 

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