Coco Gauff moved to within two wins of a China Open title double on Thursday as the top seed held off Eva Lys 6-3, 6-4 to reach the semi-finals on Thursday.

The defending champion will play next against US Open runner-up Amanda Anisimova, who defeated Jasmine Paolini 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-4.

Gauff is aiming to become the first woman to win back-to-back titles at the WTA 1000 in Beijing. She last played Anisimova in 2022, taking a Wimbledon loss

“I’m happy with how I played today. She’s a tough opponent, she hit a couple of great shots on the run,” Gauff said of Germany’s 66th-ranked Lys.

“I need to stay confident in my game and not be too passive when I have the lead. I played one passive point in this match, but otherwise I played well.”

Gauff emerged after five straight breaks of serve to claim the opening set and came through in 88 minutes as she served out the semi-final victory.

The American second seed will be competing in her fourth semi of the season and has already qualified for the year-end championships in Saudi where she is defending that title..

Gauff improved to 14-1 career record in Beijing and is hoping to defend a title for the second time in her career after Auckland 2023-2024).

“I was trying my best to stay aggressive. Just staying confident in my game and not being too passive when I have the lead,” Gauff said in victory.

British outsider Sonay Kartal earned the biggest win of her career on Wednesday with a 7-5, 2-6, 7-5 upset of fourth seed Mirra Andreeva to reach the China Open quarter-finals.

The winner ranked 81st will play a last-eight match for the first time since winning a minor title a year ago.

Kartal is the first Brit to get this far in Beijing since Johanna Konta nine years ago.

“The way I carry myself on the court is one of my biggest assets, I think,” Kartal said. “You can look down the other end of the court and you won’t really know if I’m winning or losing.

“I just tried to put that (losing) second set behind me – she played some great tennis. I just tried to level it out in the third set and keep the scoreboard pressure as far as I could.”

Kartal said that keeping her emotions hidden was the key to the uspet.

“I tried to be super unpredictable. I was aware of what she was going to try and do, how she was going to try and attack my game style.

“I just tried to be super unpredictable and in big moments play brave tennis …I was accepting that this match might not go my way, but at least I’m going to play the way I need to play to get the wins later on.”

Jannik Sinner claimed his second title in three years at the China Open on Wednesday, giving a 6-2, 6-2 lesson to Learner Tien in the Beijing final.

The Italian who stands second in the world now owns three trophies this season, with his other two Grand Slam honours in Melbourne and Wimbledon. The 24-year-old now holds 21 career trophies.

The success came less than a month after losing the Open final in New York to Carlos Alcaraz, who withdrew on Wednesday from the Shanghai Masters due to “physical issues (ankle injury).”

“Unfortunately, I’ve been struggling with some physical issues and, after discussing with my team, we believe the best decision is to rest and recover,” the world No. 1 said.

“I was really looking forward to playing in front of the amazing fans in Shanghai again. I hope to be back soon and see my Chinese fans next year.”

Sinner dominated in 72 minutes against teenaged American opponent Tien, playing his first ATP final.

“It (Beijing) is a very, very special place for me,” 2023 Beijing champion Sinner said.

Sinner can make up ground on Alcaraz in the season points race to the top ranking, which the Spaniard claimed back with his US Open title.

But with Alcaraz skipping Shanghai, Sinner could further close a gap of just over 2,500 points.

Main photo:- Jannik Sinner with Beijing Open trophy – by ATPTour.com