Lucky 13 as Sabalenka swats qualifier

Aryna Sabalenka spun off her 13th straight match win, with the reigning US Open winner powering past Thai qualifier Mananchaya Sawangkaew 6-4, 6-1 on Saturday at the China Open.

The top seed duelling with absent Iga swiatek for the world No. 1 position, advanced in 76 minutes over an Asian opponent ranked 187.

 Sabalenka has not lost a match since August 10 in the Toronto quarter-finals.

“In the first set, I was struggling a little bit with the rhythm,” Sabalenka said of the win in Beijing which put her into the last 16.

“In the second set, seems like everything started working much better.”

Sabalenka is aiming to improve an impeccable tournament record in China, where the 26-year-old owns four of 16 career WTA singles titles, an 85 per cent success rate.

“I’m having a lot of great memories from the past,” the winner said.

“It’s always great to come back and feel the atmosphere, feel the vibe, knowing that I kind of increase my fan club here.

“It gives me more motivation to go there and compete and bring my best tennis and make sure I stay till the last stages of the tournament, so I can enjoy this atmosphere as much as possible.”

Sabalenka’s best at the 1000-level hardcourt event in the capital were 2018 and 2023 quarter-final spots/ Lucky 13 as Sabalenka swats qualifier