Swiatek boosts WTA Finals bid at Wuhan Open but rival Muchova goes out

WUHAN, China (AP) — Iga Swiatek kept up her push to qualify for the WTA Finals as she ground out a 6-1, 6-4 win over American Ashlyn Krueger to reach the quarterfinals of the Wuhan Open and take advantage of a loss for Karolina Muchova on Thursday.

Krueger, in the draw as a lucky loser after defeat in qualifying, was able to put pressure on Swiatek for parts of the second set, despite racking up 44 unforced errors to the Polish player’s 27.

Swiatek will face another American in the quarterfinals after Ann Li eliminated Indonesia’s Janice Tjen 6-1, 7-6 (1) later Thursday.

Winning the title would allow Swiatek to put pressure on Muchova in the Race to the WTA Finals rankings ahead of the season-ending event next month in Indian Wells, California. Swiatek, who’s reached the finals each year since 2021, is 10th in the Race with the top eight qualifying.

Wimbledon finalist and sixth-seeded Muchova lost 7-5, 6-3 to 11th-seeded Diana Shnaider, who next plays former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko.

Fifth-seeded Elina Svitolina broke Guo Hanyu’s serve in the opening and final games and beat the Chinese wild-card entry 6-1, 6-4 to advance to the quarterfinals.

Guo was coming off a breakout run, including her first career top-20 win in the first round against Sorana Cirstea despite being ranked 240th.

Elina Svitolina, who lost in the quarterfinals at the China Open last week to eventual champion Zheng Qinwen, next plays Sonay Kartal after the British player stunned Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-0 in barely an hour.

Tenth-seeded young American Iva Jovic was upset 6-4, 6-1 by Maja Chwalinska.

On Wednesday, top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka and second-seeded Jessica Pegula lost their second-round matches.

It marked two straight losses for Sabalenka, who was beaten by Nikola Bartunkova in the third round at the China Open last week and had a bye in the opening round at Wuhan.

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