Muchova beats Sabalenka, to take on home hero Zheng

Karolina Muchova ended top seed Aryna Sabalenka’s 15-match winning run on Friday to set up a China Open semi-final against Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen.The unseeded Muchova beat the world number two 7-6 (7/5), 2-6, 6-4 in Beijing and said: "Tennis is a roller-coaster.”In another topsy-turvy quarter-final, home hero Zheng fought back to defeat Mirra Andreeva 5-7, 6-0, 6-4, with the 17-year-old Russian reduced to tears in the third set.Last year’s US Open champion Coco Gauff plays Spain’s former world number two Paula Badosa in the other semi-final.Sabalenka’s streak of victories saw her claim titles in Cincinnati and then the US Open for the first time.The Belarusian previously had trouble though with Muchova, the Czech who is now ranked 49 but this time last year was inside the top 10 before injury struck.US Open semi-finalist Muchova had won the last two meetings between them with both going to a deciding third set.This encounter proved to be just as tight as Sabalenka’s hopes of usurping Iga Swiatek at the top of the rankings took a hit, having been up 4-2 in the deciding set and seemingly on course for the semi-finals."The conditions here are so tough, it can go one way or the other. There was a couple of great returns from her, she got the momentum and started playing more aggressively,” said Sabalenka, who will play at the Wuhan Open next week."It was a really high-level match and she played some unbelievable tennis.”Three-time major champion Sabalenka had set point on Muchova’s serve at 5-4 in the first set but surrendered the opportunity when she rattled her forehand wide on the Czech’s second serve.Muchova double-faulted to give Sabalenka another chance to wrap up the first set but again she failed to take it.The Czech had two set points in the tiebreak and grabbed the second at the end of a thrilling rally to go a set up.Sabalenka started the second brightly to break for 2-1 and broke once more on the way to sealing the set with comparative ease.Neither could hold serve in the deciding set before Muchova, who at one point had appeared to be wilting in the face of her opponent’s superior power, found another gear to clinch the match in two hours, 46 minutes.In front of an expectant packed house at the 15,000-capacity Diamond Court, Andreeva silenced the home crowd and fought off a fightback from Zheng to win the first set.The second set was all Zheng, the world number seven who is playing her first tournament back home in China since winning Paris gold.The occasion seemed to get to the teenage Russian, who had tears in her eyes as she served at the start of the deciding set.At 3-2 up the 22nd-ranked Russian had a medical timeout and was tearful again as she had strapping applied to her left wrist.She recovered her poise for 4-2 but Zheng rattled off three games in a row and served for the match, sealing the triumph on first match point when Andreeva’s return drifted beyond the baseline.Swiatek splits with coach WiktorowskiWorld number one Iga Swiatek on Friday confirmed she has split with her coach Tomasz Wiktorowski and as a result would not compete in next week’s WTA tournament in Wuhan, China."After three years of the greatest achievements in my career, together with my coach Tomasz Wiktorowski we decided to part ways,” Swiatek wrote on Instagram."After an important change in my sports team, I decided to withdraw from the tournament in Wuhan,” she later said in a post on the X account of the Chinese tournament."I’m really sorry for fans in China and those who wait to see me play, but I hope you understand that I need some time.”After her US Open quarter-final defeat in September, Swiatek also withdrew from the prestigious Beijing 1000 WTA tournament in which she was the defending champion citing "personal matters”."I want to start with a big thank you and appreciating our work together,” Swiatek said of fellow Pole Wiktorowski.