Muchova Stuns Sabalenka, Reaches China Open Semis

Karolina Muchova resisted a fightback from number one seed Aryna Sabalenka to reach the semi-finals of the China Open.

Muchova will face either Russia’s Mirra Andreeva or China’s Qinwen Zheng in the last four after winning 7-6 (7-5) 2-6 6-4.

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The Czech has won her last three matches against world number two Sabalenka, who was attempting to make it 16 wins on the bounce.

“Tennis is really a rollercoaster,” She said.

“I had to fight for every ball and, in the end, it was worth it.

“I’ll try to recover as best as possible, I don’t have a day off [before the semi-final, and I’ll wait to see who my opponent is.”

Muchova fought off five break points to win the first set, but was overwhelmed in the second.

Sabalenka then broke in the opening game of the third set, but world number 49 Muchova refused to allow the three-time Grand Slam champion out of sight.

Sabalenka, the Belarusian powerhouse, suffered a loss to Muchova after winning both the Cincinnati Open and US Open since August 10th. Muchova rallied to win four consecutive games and put herself on the brink of her first WTA title of the year.