China Open, disappointment for Paolini: the Italian exits

A strong start and a straight-sets victory. Jannik Sinner secured a spot in the semifinals of the ATP Beijing tournament by defeating Czech player Jiri Lehecka (world no. 37) 6-2, 7-6 in the quarterfinals. The world number one continues his stellar season, reaching his tenth semifinal of the year and recording his fourteenth consecutive win and 58th overall victory in 2024.

Sinner triumphed over Lehecka in a match that lasted one hour and 44 minutes. The Italian showed greater stability on serve compared to his previous matches against Nicolas Jarry and Roman Safiullin. Lehecka tried in various ways to stay in control, but Sinner broke in the fourth game to go up 3-1, followed by another break in the eighth game to close out the first set.

Lehecka struggled with his serve in the second set, falling behind 0-30 in the first game. In the sixth game, Sinner hit a running winner, earning applause even from Lehecka. With Sinner ahead, Lehecka managed to fight back and hold serve to make it 3-3. In the eighth game, Sinner attempted to pull away again, but the determined Lehecka leveled the score once more.

At 5-5, two double faults from Sinner seemed to give Lehecka a chance, but the Italian saved two break points and held serve to lead 6-5. Sinner had a chance to break in Lehecka's service game, but the Czech held firm, forcing a tiebreak. Despite some difficulties in the tiebreak, where he lost serve twice, Sinner managed to close out the match on his first match point. Despite the ongoing doping case brought by WADA, Sinner remained focused and earned his semifinal spot with a 6-2, 7-6 victory. He will face Chinese player Yunchaokete Bu (ATP no. 96) in the semifinals.

On the other side of the draw, world no. 3 Carlos Alcaraz defeated Russian Karen Khachanov 7-5, 6-2. The Spaniard will face Russian Daniil Medvedev (ATP no. 5) in the semifinals, after Medvedev dispatched Italian Flavio Cobolli (ATP no. 32) in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4.

In the women's draw, Jasmine Paolini's run at the Beijing WTA 1000 came to an end in the third round. The Italian, seeded no. 3, was defeated by Poland's Magda Linette, ranked no. 45 in the world, with a decisive 6-4, 6-0 victory. The match lasted one hour and 28 minutes and was marked by numerous unforced errors from Paolini. The Italian struggled on serve, facing six breaks and winning only 46% of points on her first serve. On the other hand, Linette played a solid match, showing remarkable consistency.

The first set was fairly balanced, with Paolini recovering from 0-3 to 3-3, but she lost her grip and surrendered the decisive break in the ninth game. The second set was one-sided, with Linette closing it out 6-0.

Also notable is the progression of Russian player Anna Kalinskaya (WTA no. 14), who is dating Sinner, after American Peyton Stearns (WTA no. 46) withdrew. Madison Keys and Naomi Osaka both advanced, while US Open champion Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus defeated American Ashlyn Krueger in straight sets (6-2, 6-2).