Top-ranked Jannik Sinner will play rival Carlos Alcaraz in the final of the China Open after recording a 6-3, 7-6(3) victory against home favorite Buyunchaokete in the semifinals.
BEIJING, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese wildcard player Buyunchaokete's impressive run at the 2024 China Open came to an end here on Tuesday, after he lost to world No. 1 Jannik Sinner of Italy in the men's singles semifinals.
Having entered the tournament ranked 96th in the world, Buyunchaokete secured his spot in the semifinals by defeating fourth-seeded Andrey Rublev of Russia in straight sets. Despite a spirited performance, the 22-year-old was unable to overcome the top-seeded Italian, losing 6-3, 7-6(3).
After the scoreline reached 2-2 in the opening set, Sinner started to gain control of the set by breaking Buyunchaokete's service to take a 5-2 lead. Although the underdog managed to win one game back, Sinner closed out the set 6-3.
The second set was more competitive, with Buyunchaokete holding his ground until 6-6 before the 2024 US Open champion won the crucial tiebreak.
"Sinner put a lot of pressure on me. My serve was terrible today, possibly the worst of the week, but I tried to adjust during the match. Maybe I was too tired after these intense matches," said Buyunchaokete.
"Buyunchaokete is a very solid player. He has made a breakthrough in the last couple of months, and I hope he can keep going," said Sinner, who is set to face the world No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain in the final, who defeated the world No. 5 Daniil Medvedev of Russia 7-5, 6-3.
"I think I played really well. Obviously, if I want to beat Daniil, I have to play high-quality tennis. Really happy to play my first final in Beijing," said Alcaraz.
Chinese veteran Zhang Shuai, who suffered a 24-match losing streak before the China Open, stunned 23rd-seeded Magdalena Frech of Poland 6-4, 6-2 to reach the women's singles quarterfinals. "I am delighted to inspire my greatest energy in the China Open again," said Zhang.
By breaking into the last eight of the China Open for the third time, after previous appearances in 2016 and 2018, Zhang will next face Spain's Paula Badosa, who defeated world No. 3 Jessica Pegula of the United States in the round of 16.
"I feel a lot of pressure and nerves because I have already lost 24 matches. It was very tough, more than one and a half years without any winning," said the 35-year-old. "Every day I wake up, I try to go to courts early. I felt sad when I lost, but the next day, I went again. I trusted myself and believed that good results would come."
"In this draw, everyone has a higher ranking than me. I have nothing to lose, so I don't have to think about too much. I will focus on myself in the next match," Zhang added.
After losing to Pegula in their first three encounters, including a defeat in the Cincinnati semifinals last month, Badosa reached the eighth WTA 1000 quarterfinal in her career after comfortably beating Pegula 6-4, 6-0.
"I was moving well. My backhand and my forehand were there today, and I fought. Every point was very important for me, especially against Jessica, because she can come back at any moment. I'm really happy for this win, honestly," the former world No. 2 said. ■
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