WUHAN, China — Top-ranked Ash Barty advanced to the Wuhan Open quarterfinals for the third straight year with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Sofia Kenin on Wednesday.
Barty fell behind 5-3 in the second set but saved two set points against her American opponent and won four straight games to avoid a third set.
“I had a period in the second set where I let her see far too many second serves; she was able to take advantage of that,” Barty said. “In the end, I’m really happy with how I was a bit more aggressive toward the end of the second set and closed it out in straight sets.”
The Australian will next face Petra Martic, who beat Veronika Kudermetova of Russia 6-3, 6-1.
Third-seeded Elina Svitolina of Ukraine defeated two-time Grand Slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 6-2.
Despite hitting fewer winners than the Russian, Svitolina had just 15 unforced errors, compared to her opponent’s 33.
“Today I think it was a lot about tactics. Just tried to keep the ball out of the middle, try to work with the ball, try to get the angles and don’t rush,” Svitolina said.
In the quarterfinals, Svitolina will play American Alison Riske, who ousted eighth-seeded Qiang Wang 6-2, 6-1.
In the first match of the day, Elena Rybakina advanced after Wimbledon champion Simona Halep withdrew with a lower back injury. Halep was trailing 5-4 in the first set.
Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka beat sixth-seeded Kiki Bertens 6-1, 7-6 (9) to reach the last eight.