Alcaraz and Medvedev advance to semifinals at China Open. Swiatek wins on debut in Beijing
Carlos Alcaraz of Spain celebrates after defeating Casper Ruud of Norway in the men's singles quarterfinal match of the China Open tennis tournament at the Diamond Court in Beijing, Monday, Oct. 2, 2023. Credit: AP/Andy Wong
BEIJING — Second-ranked Carlos Alcaraz eased to his 12th semifinal appearance of the season with a 6-4, 6-2 win over seventh-seeded Casper Ruud at the China Open on Monday.
The top-seeded Spaniard recovered from falling a break behind in the first set before he overpowered Ruud with 30 winners and four breaks of serve to advance.
“To be able to beat a player like Casper in straight sets is really good," Alcaraz said. "It means you are playing well. It is really tough, big rallies at the beginning of the match, but I am really happy with the level.
"Being able to find solutions after the start of the first set. These kind of matches give you extra confidence.”
Alcaraz will meet sixth-seeded Jannik Sinner in Tuesday's semifinals after the Italian downed Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.
Third-ranked Daniil Medvedev overcame a second-set stumble to beat Frenchman Ugo Humbert 6-4, 3-6, 6-1.
The Russian struggled to find his usual fluid game in the first two sets but sprung to life in the third set to shake off the 36th-ranked Humbert and progress to his 10th semifinal of the year.
Iga Swiatek of Poland wipes her sweat during the first round of the women's singles match against Sara Sorribes Tormo of Spain in the China Open tennis tournament at the Lotus Court in Beijing, Monday, Oct. 2, 2023. Credit: AP/Andy Wong
His semifinal opponent will be eighth-seeded Alexander Zverev, who needed three sets to prevail over Nicolas Jarry 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-3.
SWIATEK, GAUFF ADVANCE
Making her first appearance at the China Open, second-ranked Iga Swiatek advanced to the second round with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Sara Sorribes Tormo.
The Pole fired 27 winners and made 25 unforced errors, breaking serve a total of seven times in the win.
Coco Gauff of the United States reacts after scoring a set point against Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia during the first round of the women's singles match in the China Open tennis tournament at the Lotus Court in Beijing, Monday, Oct. 2, 2023. Credit: AP/Andy Wong
“You have to be patient with her because she’s running for every ball,” Swiatek said of her No.55-ranked Spanish opponent. “I kind of wanted to just be solid and be intensive but not make too many mistakes with risking.”
Swiatek will next face Varvara Gracheva.
Third-ranked Coco Gauff defeated Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-5, 6-3. The U.S. Open winner plays Croatian Petra Martic next.
Fifth-seeded Elena Rybakina cruised to a 6-1, 6-2 victory over China's Zheng Qinwen. Seventh-seeded Ons Jabeur, winner of the Ningbo Open last week, beat Ashlyn Krueger 6-3, 6-4 and ninth-seeded Caroline Garcia was a 6-2, 6-4 winner over Kateryna Baindl.
China's Wang Xinyu beat wildcard Vera Zvonareva 6-4, 6-3 and 11th-seeded Daria Kasatkina defeated Mayar Sherif 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (8).
Jelena Ostapenko, seeded 13th, had a walkover into the round of 16 after Linda Noskova withdrew due to illness. Ostapenko will face either fourth-seeded Jessica Pegula or Anna Blinkova next.
Also in the second-round, Anhelina Kalinina defeated Daria Saville 6-2, 7-6 (5) and Jasmine Paolini beat Yuan Yue 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. Magda Linette was leading Jennifer Brady 3-1 when the American retired from the match, and Liudmila Samsonova beat 12th-seeded Petra Kvitova 6-4, 7-5.
Astana Open
Fifth-seeded Sebastian Korda beat wild card Hamad Medjedovic 6-7 (8), 7-6 (2), 7-6 (3) to advance to the final of the Astana Open and a shot at a second career title.
The 23-year-old American will meet sixth-seeded Adrian Mannarino in Tuesday's final after the Frenchman beat Sebastian Ofner 6-4, 6-2 in the other semifinal.
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