Aryna Sabalenka continues quest of first China Open win

Top seed Aryna Sabalenka overcame a sluggish start to defeat Thai qualifier Mananchaya Sawangkaew 6-4, 6-1 and move to the third round of the China Open in Beijing on Saturday.

Sabalenka won her 13th straight WTA Tour match in 76 minutes, but she wasn't completely pleased by her play.

"In the first set, I was struggling a little bit with the rhythm," Sabalenka said. "In the second set, seems like everything started working much better. ... I think that's why it was more smooth and better quality."

The numbers of the match show Sawangkaew, who made her tour debut last week at the Thailand Open, was unable to stay with the World No. 2. Sabalenka won 75 percent of her points on first serve, compared to just 48 percent for her opponent. Sabalenka won 52 percent of return points.

Sabalenka, of Belarus, has a record of success in China, winning four of her 16 career tour singles titles in the country. She has yet to win the Beijing tournament, however.

"It's always great to come back and feel the atmosphere, feel the vibe, knowing that I kind of gain my fan club here," said Sabalenka, who won the U.S. Open and the Australian Open this year. "It gives me more motivation to go there and compete and bring my best tennis and make sure I stay till the last stages of the tournament, so I can enjoy this atmosphere as much as possible."

Seeking to interrupt that vibe in the next round will be American Ashlyn Krueger, a 6-1, 7-6 (4) winner over Lulu Sun of New Zealand.

Home-country favorite Qinwen Zheng, who won the Olympic gold medal, played a quick match, defeating Kamilla Rakhimova of Russia 6-1, 6-1 in front of a cheering crowd of about 15,000.

"Atmosphere was insane," Zheng, the fifth seed, said. "I never thought it will be so full in the center court. They put on my (favorite Chinese pop song). They just did everything for me.

"Honestly when I played last year in China Open, I remember it wasn't that full. Today I see there's nearly no empty seat."

She will aim to maintain the momentum in the third round against Nadia Podoroska of Argentina, who defeated Russian Dayana Yastremska 7-5, 6-7 (4), 6-2.

Other winners Saturday included Jaqueline Cristian of Romania, who upset seventh-seeded Czech Barbora Krejcikova 1-6, 6-4, 7-5; 13th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil; 16th seed Donna Vekic of Croatia; 17th seed Mirra Andreeva of Russia; and 18th seed Madison Keys.

--Field Level Media