WUHAN, China — Aryna Sabalenka extended her winning streak at Wuhan to 20 matches with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over eighth-seeded Elena Rybakina on Friday to reach the semifinals of the WTA 1000-level tournament.
The US Open champion won the Wuhan Open title in 2018, ’19 and again last year on her return to the Chinese city.
Top-ranked Sabalenka broke Rybakina’s serve three times in the 1-hour, 25-minute match to advance into the semifinals for the 11th time this season, and then waved and blew kisses to the crowd.
It was also comfortable for third-seeded Coco Gauff, who cruised into a second straight semifinal with a 6-3, 6-0 victory over Laura Siegemund.
The American lost to eventual champion Amanda Anisimova in the final four at the China Open last week.
Gauff will next face either No. 2-ranked Iga Swiatek or Jasmine Paolini, who were playing in the late match.
Sabalenka will play sixth-seeded Jessica Pegula, who earlier Friday went to a third set for a seventh consecutive match. She dropped the first set against Katerina Siniakova before reeling through the next two for a 2-6, 6-0, 6-3 victory.
Pegula is coming off wins over No. 9 Ekaterina Alexandrova and fellow American Hailey Baptiste, when she needed seven match points to clinch the win.
