China Open: Alcaraz, Sabalenka Cruise To Quarterfinals

Second-ranked Carlos Alcaraz cruised into the quarterfinals of the China Open with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Lorenzo Musetti in the second round on Sunday.

The top-seeded Spaniard hit 18 winners and broke the Italian’s serve four times in the 81-minute rout as he became the first player to win 60 tour matches this season.

Next up for Alcaraz is seventh-seeded Casper Ruud, who was taken the distance by Tomas Martin Etcheverry 1-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7) in a three-hour thriller.

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Later Sunday, third-seeded Holger Rune plays Grigor Dimitrov and sixth-seeded Jannik Sinner faces Yoshihito Nishioka.

In her debut match as the world’s top-ranked player, Aryna Sabalenka delivered a dominant 6-1, 6-2 win against Sofia Kenin in the first round of the woman’s draw in Beijing.

The Belarussian fired 22 winners to just nine unforced errors against the 31st-ranked Kenin and wrapped up a routine victory in 67 minutes in her first match since the U.S. Open.

“Honestly, I didn’t expect to play that good on my serve,” Sabalenka said. “On practice, it didn’t work that well. But I was super happy that I was able to bring that level on my serve today. I think it’s helped a lot.”

Sabalenka, looking for fifth tour title in China and first since the 2019 WTA Elite Trophy, will face Katie Boulter or Magdalena French in the second round.

Anhelina Kalinina upset Wimbeldon champion and eighth-seeded Marketa Vondrousova 1-6, 6-4, 6-1. The Ukrainian will next play Daria Saville, who beat Katerina Siniakova 6-2, 6-2.

Other first round winners included Liudmila Samsonova, Jennifer Brady and Yulia Putintseva.