–

Three of the top five seeds in singles make the semis, as No. 5 Elena Rybakina knocked out world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in a surprising-not-surprising quarterfinal on Friday.

But the stellar matchup in Saturday’s semifinals was to be No. 2 Iga Swiatek vs. No. 3 Coco Gauff.

Swiatek held a crazy 7-1 edge in their head-to-head, which doesn’t necessarily represent a difference in level as much as it did a bad matchup for Gauff, and their relative successes in the last two years – until this last US Open.

The two met four times in 2022, and Gauff wasn’t even able to take a set.

This was their fourth meeting in 2023 – and their most recent one, in Cincinnati, featured Gauff’s first set win ever – and also her first win ever as she edged out Swiatek during her hot run on the American summer hard courts.

But again, and nursing a shoulder issue, Gauff wasn’t able to take a set. She just couldn’t keep up with the pace.

(Beijing is 12 hours ahead of ET).

**********************************

China Open
Location: Beijing, China
Category: WTA 1000 (Joint event with the ATP Tour)
Surface: Outdoor Hard
Dates: Sept. 30 – Oct. 6, 2023
Prize money: $8,127,389
Draws: S56 – D28

Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023
Final results

Singles, semifinals

[2] Iga Swiatek (POL) def [3] Coco Gauff (USA) 62 63

Liudmila Samsonova (RUS) def. [5] Elena Rybakina (KAZ) 76 (7) 63

Doubles, semifinals

Hao-Ching Chan (TPE) / Giuliana Olmos (MEX) def Magda Linette (POL) / Peyton Stearns (USA) 75 64
Marie Bouzkova (CZE) / Sara Sorribes Tormo (ESP) def Ingrid Gamarra Martins / Luisa Stefani (BRA) 62 62

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Stephanie Myles

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