Bartunkova stuns Sabalenka in straight sets in Beijing
Nikola Bartunkova beat Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 6-3 in the third round of the China Open in Beijing on 4 October. The match lasted 1 hour and 35 minutes. Straight sets. No tiebreak required The Guardian.
Bartunkova is 20, Czech, and ranked 34th in the world. In Beijing she was the No. 26 seed, the seeding that protects top players from meeting early, and she was making her tournament debut. That is a lot of firsts to carry on to court against a four-time Grand Slam champion.
Sabalenka came to Beijing as the second seed and the former world No. 1. She had lost the top ranking to Elena Rybakina only weeks earlier. Sabalenka had opened her week by beating Mexico's Renata Zarazua 6-1, 6-3 in 62 minutes, according to the tournament site, but Bartunkova asked different questions.
Beijing has eaten its favourites quickly. A day earlier, on 3 October, top seed Rybakina lost in the second round to Alina Charaeva. Sabalenka's defeat means the top two seeds are both out before the second week. For fans, this means a wide-open draw.
Bartunkova held her nerve from the baseline and served cleanly, hitting four aces across the two sets. Sabalenka had won their only previous meeting, leading the head-to-head 1-0 before this match. This time the Czech took her chances early in each set and did not let the rallies slide into Sabalenka's power game.
The record books will note the scale. It was only the second Top 10 win of Bartunkova's career, and her first over a Top 3 player WTA. To do it on debut in Beijing, against a player who has won major titles on hard courts, gives the scoreline extra weight.
Next for Bartunkova is Austria's Sinja Kraus in the round of 16. That is the last 16, one win from the quarter-finals. Kraus will have watched this result closely.
The men's event has its own headline tie. Reigning US Open champion Alexander Zverev was scheduled to play Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals on 4 October. Same venue. Different contest.
What makes this stand out is the control. A 20-year-old debutant does not usually beat Sabalenka by staying level for 95 minutes. Bartunkova did. Two sets, four aces, one clear winner.
