Relentless Sabalenka marches into Wuhan semi-finals

Aryna Sabalenka powered into her 11th semi-final of the year with a 6-3, 6-3 win over eighth-seeded Elena Rybakina at the Wuhan Open on Friday.

The world number one remains unbeaten in four tournament appearances at the event and will take a 20-0 record into her final-four showdown with Jessica Pegula on Saturday.

The defending champion improved to 8-5 head-to-head against Kazakhstan’s Rybakina, whose bid for a WTA Finals berth has taken a hit with the loss.

“Elena is a great player, very nice girl and always tough to play against,” said Sabalenka, the US Open champion.

“We have a really huge history against each other, always great battles. She always pushes me to the limit to get the win.

“I’m super happy with the performance today.”

A rock-solid Sabalenka claimed a timely break of serve in game eight on her way to forging a one-set lead in 43 minutes in temperatures above 30C.

Continuing to showcase some impressive all-court prowess, Sabalenka broke twice in the second frame to build a 4-1 advantage.

Rybakina narrowed the deficit by getting one of the breaks back but couldn’t stop Sabalenka from marching into the final four and extending her winning streak to 10 matches.

Sixth-seeded Pegula recorded her 50th win of the season with a 2-6, 6-0, 6-3 victory over Katerina Siniakova to reach a third consecutive semi-final, following Beijing and the US Open.

Pegula’s last seven matches were all three-setters, contested within a 16-day period, and the American was successful in six of them.

“I guess I’m in really good shape,” said the 31-year-old.

“I definitely don’t think I need to play any more matches or work on any physical stuff because I’ve been able to battle through these matches and play very well.”

She added: “Obviously I wish maybe it was more straightforward for my mental and physical state.

“But if I win every match for the rest of my life in three sets I think I’ll be pretty happy.”