Maja Chwalińska beat Maria Sakkari 6:0, 3:6, 7:5 in the quarterfinal of the WTA 1000 tournament in Wuhan on Friday, October 16. It is the Polish player’s first career semifinal at an event of this level.
The match lasted 2 hours and 35 minutes, according to “Super Express”. Chwalińska, the world No. 22, won the first set in half an hour without letting the Greek player win a single game. Sakkari, currently 35th in the WTA rankings, got back into the match in the second set and won it 6:3, at one point leading 4:0.
Deciding set
In the third set, neither player could build a clear advantage. According to reports from Interia and “Rzeczpospolita”, Chwalińska had several break points that she did not convert, while Sakkari kept clawing back the deficit. At 5:5, the Pole held serve, and in the 12th game she broke her opponent and closed out the match on her first match point. According to Interia, Sakkari hit two backhand errors in a row on the final point.
This was the third meeting between the two players and the Pole’s second win. Earlier this year, Chwalińska beat the Greek player in Paris on her way to the Roland Garros final. We wrote about that tournament when Chwalińska became the Roland Garros runner-up.
Road to the semifinal
In Wuhan, the Pole beat Mayar Sherif, Marie Bouzková and, in the third round, Iva Jović (world No. 11), 6:4, 6:1. The quarterfinal against Sakkari was her first at a WTA 1000 tournament. According to “Rzeczpospolita”, the semifinal in Wuhan is her biggest success since the Roland Garros final.
Opponent in the semifinal
Chwalińska’s opponent will be decided by Friday’s match between Iga Świątek and American Ann Li, scheduled for around 1:00 p.m. Polish time. In Wuhan, Li eliminated Aryna Sabalenka and, in the third round, beat Janice Tjen 6:1, 7:6(1). Świątek, seeded 7th, won her earlier rounds against Magdalena Fręch 6:2, 6:1 and Ashlyn Krueger 6:1, 6:4. She played Li earlier this year in Madrid but had to retire from that match due to an injury. If Świątek wins, there will be an all-Polish semifinal.
What it means
According to RMF FM, in Monday’s WTA ranking update Chwalińska will for the first time enter the top 20, at No. 16 at the least. Her exact position depends on her further results in Wuhan. For Polish fans, this means that at least one Polish player will be in the tournament’s semifinal. The semifinal is due to be played in the coming days of the tournament, and the organizers will announce the exact time.
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