After three fantastic days of play at the National Tennis Centre in Beijing, China, it was the second round Tuesday for many of the remaining women in the singles draw at the 2015 China Open. The day began with some unfortunate news — 11th seed Belinda Bencic was forced to withdraw from her second round match, citing a right hand injury. Excluding Bencic’s withdrawal, it was a great day for the seeds who did take to the court on Tuesday, with all six of the seeded players advancing to the third round. Some of those seeded players included U.S. Open champion Flavia Pennetta, Ana Ivanovic, Caroline Wozniacki, and Angelique Kerber who all showed signs of brilliance at different stages of their respective matches.

Wozniacki Battles Past Wang

In the opening match of the day, eighth seed Caroline Wozniacki faced home favourite Wang Qiang. The pair have met once before coming into this match, with Wang upsetting Wozniacki two years ago in Kuala Lumpur. Judging by the opening exchanges of the match, a repeat of that result was on the cards. The match began with an astounding seven consecutive breaks of serve before Wang stopped the rot, holding for a 5-3 lead in the opening set. However, once Wozniacki finally held her own serve to force Wang to serve for a one-set advantage, the former world number one began to open her shoulders and play more aggressive, while making numerous unforced errors. In the end, this proved to be the deciding factor in the match. Wang was unable to take her chances, but Wozniacki took full advantage of her opportunities and opponent’s misfortunes, reeling off ten games in a row from 3-5 down in the opening set, to seal an emphatic 7-5, 6-0 win over her Chinese counterpart.

Pennetta Survives, Defeats Pereira in Three Sets

Later on, 2015 U.S. Open champion Flavia Pennetta was looking to extend her winning streak to nine matches in a row, but would have to overcome Brazil’s Teliana Pereira. Pennetta struggled in her opening round match against Chinese wildcard Han Xinyun and despite going up a break in the opening set, the Italian was nowhere near to her best tennis. Pereira, who has won her first two WTA titles this season, is undoubtedly playing the best tennis of her career thus far. The Brazilian now has more confidence in her game and it showed, with Pereira coming from a break down, to a break up to win the opening set 6-3. With her back against the wall and her chances of qualifying for Singapore fading, Pennetta responded with some of the tennis that won her her maiden Grand Slam singles title this past summer. The Italian number one hit winner after winner, leaving Pereira flat-footed and looking for answers. As a result, the world number seven took the second set 6-0. In the decider, both players had their chances but it was Pennetta who was able to make the most out of her break point opportunities. After just over two hours of match play, the U.S. Open champion extended her winning streak to nine matches in a row, with a 3-6, 6-0, 6-4 win over Pereira.

Kerber Fights Off Cibulkova

Taking the court in the early evening on Tuesday was Angelique Kerber and Dominika Cibulkova. The pair have met seven times in the past, with Cibulkova leading the head-to-head series 4-3. However, it is worth noting that Kerber has won their last three encounters. The German number one looked to be on course for a fourth consecutive win over her Slovak counterpart, as she raced out to a 6-1, 5-1 lead in less than fifty minutes. However, Cibulkova, who has always been known for her trademark fighting spirit and loud screams of “POME!”, had other ideas. The former Australian Open finalist began to play a little more aggressive, and a higher percentage of her shots were landing in. Within a matter of ten minutes, Kerber’s two break advantage in the second set quickly disappeared and Cibulkova had a chance to get back into the match, trailing 4-5. But in the end, the Slovak was unable to use the life line she had set up for herself, and the 11th-seeded German broke to love in the following game, sealing a 6-1, 6-4 win. Kerber will play Caroline Wozniacki in the third round, whom she lost to two weeks ago in Tokyo.

Ivanovic Gets Much-Needed Win Over Venus Williams

The last match to be played on day five was Ana Ivanovic, who squared off against Wuhan champion Venus Williams in a highly-anticipated clash. Both women were still harboring hopes of qualifying for the WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global played later this month, so this was a must-win match for both players.

In the first opening games of this encounter, both women were not afraid to go toe-to-toe with each other from the baseline. Eventually, the set would have to be decided in a tiebreak. In that tiebreak, Ivanovic won all of the important points. The Serb got the early mini break, and eventually got a second to distance herself even more from her American counterpart. Despite losing one of the two mini breaks, Ivanovic was able to reclaim it with a beautiful backhand cross-court winner and with that, the set. After 56 minutes of play, the sixth seed took the opening set 7-6(3).

After winning that tight opening set, Ivanovic began to play within herself more, and Williams was just beginning to show signs of fatigue because of her long week in Wuhan last week. Despite going down an early break, the Serb broke straight back and eventually broke two more times in the second set. It was clear that Ivanovic wasn’t going to let this match slip from her grasp, as she was coming up with some glorious shots that left Williams without any answers. After an hour and 32 minutes of play, the sixth seed booked her place in the third round with a 7-6(3), 6-2 win over Venus Williams. Ivanovic will play Svetlana Kuznetsova next.

Other Winners on Day Four

Other winners on day five included qualifier Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, Timea Bacsinszky, Andrea Petkovic and Sara Errani. Mattek-Sands defeated WTA rising star Lara Arruabarrena 2-6, 6-2, 6-0, while Lucic-Baroni advanced courtesy of Belinda Bencic’s withdrawal. Bacsinszky returned to her winning ways by defeating Pan American gold medallist Mariana Duque-Mariño 7-5, 6-2, Petkovic fought off Samantha Stosur 6-2, 7-5, and Errani got revenge on Caroline Garcia for her loss last week in Wuhan, defeating the French woman 6-4, 3-6, 6-1.

Headlining Day Five...

On day five, Garbiñe Muguruza will play her first match of the week against Irina Falconi. Muguruza has been nursing an ankle injury for the last few days and chances are, the Spaniard might have requested to play her first match on Wednesday instead of Tuesday so she could get an extra day to recover. Also in action on day five is Andrea Petkovic who plays Sara Errani, Agnieszka Radwanska who plays Madison Keys, Angelique Kerber who plays Caroline Wozniacki, and Carla Suarez Navarro who will play Timea Bacsinszky. All eight of those players are still in contention of qualifying for the WTA Finals in Singapore, but a loss at this stage of the China Open will officially end their chances and hopes of qualifying. At this stage of the season, every win counts. 

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About the author
Max Gao
Max Gao is a sports writer specializing in tennis and the Toronto Blue Jays, who has also written on the Rogers Cup website as a guest contributor in the past.