The China Open delivered an earthquake in the women’s draw on Sunday as second seed Aryna Sabalenka was swatted aside in straight sets in the third round, leaving the tournament without its top two seeds.
Czech 20-year-old Nikola Bartunkova played the match of her life, firing down four aces to dismiss the four-time Grand Slam champion 6-4, 6-3 in just one hour and 35 minutes.
Sabalenka struggled to find her rhythm as conditions shifted between shade and blinding sunlight on centre court. The Belarusian squandered five critical break opportunities in the sixth game of the opening set, undone by Bartunkova’s resolute defence and baseline depth. In a desperate bid to adapt, the 28-year-old put on a cap midway through the first set, but it did little to halt her opponent’s momentum.
Frustration boiled over in the second set when Sabalenka threw her racquet after dropping serve in the fourth game. Bartunkova, ranked 34th in the world, stayed ice-cool to secure the biggest victory of her career on her first match point, forcing a net error from the former world number one.
“I focused on myself, to be calm,” a thrilled Bartunkova said after the match. “She’s a legend… so I’m really happy that I won the match.”
Bartunkova now advances to the round of 16, where she will take on Austria’s Sinja Kraus.
Sabalenka’s exit comes just 24 hours after top seed Elena Rybakina — who recently replaced Sabalenka at the top of the WTA rankings — was ousted in the second round by Alina Charaeva.
Elsewhere in women’s action:
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Mirra Andreeva: The French Open champion set up a compelling fourth-round clash against Ukraine’s Daria Snigur.
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Linda Noskova: The reigning Wimbledon champion breezed past Viktorija Golubic 6-2, 6-1 to book a fourth-round showdown with 28th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Medvedev Powers Into Men’s Semi-Finals
While the women’s draw collapsed into chaos, stability reigned in the men’s quarter-finals as Daniil Medvedev dispatched Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo 7-6 (7/4), 6-3. The former world number one showed his trademark resilience to set up a blockbuster semi-final matchup against either Alexander Zverev or Novak Djokovic.
Also moving into the final four:
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Hubert Hurkacz: The big-serving Pole powered past Karen Khachanov.
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Alex de Minaur: The Australian fought back from a set down to survive a gruelling clash against Andrey Rublev 1-6, 6-2, 6-3.
