WUHAN, China — Iga Swiatek kept up her push to qualify for the WTA Finals, grinding out a 6-1, 6-4 win over American Ashlyn Krueger to reach the quarterfinals of the Wuhan Open on Thursday. The result also gave her a boost from a loss by Karolina Muchova.
Swiatek Advances
Krueger entered the main draw as a lucky loser after she lost in qualifying. She put pressure on Swiatek for parts of the second set, but she committed 44 unforced errors to the Polish player’s 27.
Swiatek will face another American in the quarterfinals. Ann Li eliminated Indonesia’s Janice Tjen 6-1, 7-6 (1) later Thursday.
A title in Wuhan would allow Swiatek to close the gap on Muchova in the Race to the WTA Finals rankings before the season-ending event next month in Indian Wells, California. Swiatek has reached the final every year since 2021, and she sits 10th in the Race. The top eight qualify.
Muchova Falls, Svitolina Through
Wimbledon finalist and sixth-seeded Muchova lost 7-5, 6-3 to 11th-seeded Diana Shnaider. Shnaider next plays former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko.
Fifth-seeded Elina Svitolina broke the serve of Chinese wild-card entry Guo Hanyu in the opening and final games. She beat Guo 6-1, 6-4 to advance. Guo arrived on a breakout run, which included her first career top-20 win, a first-round victory over Sorana Cirstea. Guo was ranked 240th at the time.
Svitolina, who lost in the quarterfinals of the China Open last week to eventual champion Zheng Qinwen, next plays Sonay Kartal. The British player stunned Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-0 in barely an hour.
Jovic Upset
Tenth-seeded young American Iva Jovic was upset 6-4, 6-1 by Maja Chwalinska.
Sabalenka and Pegula Exit
On Wednesday, top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka and second-seeded Jessica Pegula lost their second-round matches. The defeat marked two straight losses for Sabalenka, who was beaten by Nikola Bartunkova in the third round at the China Open last week. She had received a bye in the opening round in Wuhan.