Sabalenka registers hard-fought win over Navarro at Wuhan Open

Spain's Garbine Muguruza (14th seed) defeated Belgium's Alison Van Uytvanck 6-4, 6-0 in the first round of the Wuhan Open here on Monday.

In little more than an hour, Muguruza, 24, routed Uytvanck, who had defeated Muguruza in the second round of Wimbledon earlier this year, in a straight sets win on centre court at the Optical Valley International Tennis Centre, reports Efe.

In the second round, Muguruza will face either fellow Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo or Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland.

In another match, Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro was dumped out of the first round after suffering a 6-7, 6-2, 2-6 defeat to Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka.

The Spaniard, ranked 22nd by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), was facing Sabalenka, ranked 20th in the world, for the second time this year, after her defeat to the Belarusian in the final of the Connecticut Open.

The 20-year-old Sabalenka on Monday had to withstand a much sterner test from Suarez Navarro, who had three set points in the first set, which the Belarusian eventually took after a tie-break.

The Spaniard came storming back in the second set to take it 6-2.

The tight encounter was decided by the finest of margins, with both players enjoying healthy completion percentages and performing well in their service games.

Sabalenka ended the contest on her second serve, winning 10 percent more points than that of Suarez Navarro, who was unable to capitalize on several break points that came her way.

The Belarusian moves on to the Round of 32, where she will face sixth seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine.

--IANS

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