WUHAN: Twice Wuhan Open champion Petra Kvitova and holder Aryna Sabalenka moved into the last-16 after recording straight sets victories in the second round on Monday.

Czech Kvitova, who won the title in 2014 and 2016, needed one break in the second set against Slovenia’s Polona Hercog to wrap up the match 7-6 (8-6), 6-3 after the opener went with serve.

Kvitova will play either former US Open champion Sloane Stephens, seeded 10th, or Wang Yafan of China in the next round.

Belarusian Sabalenka advanced with a 6-1 6-0 victory over Danielle Collins, dispatching the American in 51 minutes.

Sabalenka fired down seven aces and broke her 25-year-old opponent six times to set up a last-16 clash with either Dutch sixth seed Kiki Bertens or American qualifier Bernarda Pera.

Top seeds Ash Barty, Karolina Pliskova, Elina Svitolina and Simona Halep — who got first-round byes — play on Tuesday.

Also on Monday, Caroline Wozniacki, Angelique Kerber and Anastasija Sevastova all lost to unseeded opponents in the first round.

The 13th-seeded Wozniacki lost to Su-Wei Hsieh of Taiwan 7-6 (2), 6-1, 6-2, Puerto Rico’s Monica Puig defeated the 11th-seeded Kerber 7-6 (7-5), 5-7, 6-1 in almost three hours and American Christina McHale ousted the 14th-seeded Sevastova 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Published in Dawn, September 24th, 2019