Muchova breaks Sabalenka's winning streak and reaches the semi-finals in Beijing

Karolina Muchova ended No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka's 15-game winning streak in a China Open quarterfinal thriller, saving two set points in the first set and rallying from 4-2 down in the third to win 7-6( 5), to take the lead 2:3. 6, 6-4 in 2 hours and 46 minutes.

Beijing: scores | Order of play | Pulls

The reigning Australian Open and US Open champion Sabalenka had not lost a match since the quarterfinals in Toronto at the beginning of August, where she lost to eventual runner-up Amanda Anisimova. However, following her semi-final victories at Roland Garros and Cincinnati last year, Muchova has now defeated the world No. 2 three times in a row. Sabalenka's only win in the series came in the 2019 Zhuhai semifinals.

Muchova is only playing the seventh tournament of her comeback after wrist surgery. She has now reached at least the semi-finals in three of them, having also finished second in Palermo in July before reaching the fourth Grand Slam semi-final of her career at the US Open.

The win takes Muchova to her sixth semifinal at the WTA 1000 level or higher. She will next face either No. 5 seed Zheng Qinwen or No. 17 seed Mirra Andreeva.

Roller Coaster Rivalry: During her on-court interview, Muchova laughed as she told the audience, “Tennis is a rollercoaster.”

This has been typical of her rivalry with Sabalenka so far. Each of their victories were narrow three-set wins. At Roland Garros she saved a match point when she came back from a 2-5 deficit in the third set; She came from a family in Cincinnati.

In connection with the Czech's comeback, it was urgently necessary that he emerged victorious from a three-set duel. This result was only her second three-set win of 2024, following her 6-7(0), 6-2, 6-3 win over Noma Noga Akugue in the second round of Palermo. Since then, she had lost four deciding sets in a row – to Zheng in the Palermo final, to Leylah Fernandez in the first round of the Paris Olympics and to Jessica Pegula in Cincinnati and at the US Open.

Shotmaking Festival: The foundation for a great contest was laid in the opening game – a three-two duel in which seven out of 12 points were decided by clear winners, including a brilliant cat-and-mouse exchange won by Muchova and a delightful drop shot from Sabalenka.

In fact, the drop shot proved to be a key component of Sabalenka's artillery, belying the dynamic of power and finesse that may have previously characterized their rivalry. The number 2 in the world rankings held the first game and repeatedly surprised Muchova with unexpected ball contacts.

But with the score at 5:4, Sabalenka was unable to take advantage of two double faults from Muchova and missed two set points in this game. Muchova, ranked 49th, showed her best net game in the ensuing tiebreak and stole the set.

In the next set and a half, Sabalenka took control with her pure first-hitting power. Muchova was the more aggressive player in the first set, recording both more winners (18 to 15) and more unforced errors (15 to eight) than Sabalenka. The former world number 1 turned the game around in the second round, scoring 13 winning goals – including five in the second leg – to Muchova's eight.

Sabalenka maintained her level for much of the third set to stay ahead. Despite coming back from 2-0 to 2-2, a spectacular pass paved the way to another break and a 4-2 lead.

But Muchova showed the courage to persevere and it paid off as unforced errors began to creep into Sabalenka's game again. Muchova converted her fourth break point to make it 4-4 and from there she reached the finish line by taking the last 10 points of the game.

Muchova on the challenge Sabalenka poses: “Very touching match – basically what I expected. She is one of the best players playing her best tennis today. You really have to be ready to attack because if you cut a slow ball or something else, she will really break you down.”

“I came up a little short in the second set. I was feeling a little down and she just went for it. I just tried to get through the second set, tried to regroup. In the third set I just tried to fight for every ball. “We had some close battles, so I tried to get every ball over the net and in the end it was worth it.”

“I played against them twice last year and it was definitely a year of improvement. She drops balls, she's better at the net. I just try to keep up. But I think I felt pretty good on the pitch too – I haven't had much time for it this year. “