Swiatek stunned by Paolini at Wuhan Open. Sabalenka, Gauff advance to semifinals

WUHAN, China (AP) – Iga Swiatek was knocked out of the Wuhan Open on Friday in a straight-set defeat to Jasmine Paolini – a player the Wimbledon champion had never previously lost against.

Paolini powered her way to a 6-1, 6-2 victory over the second-ranked Swiatek in a quarterfinal that was over in 65 minutes.

It was the Italian’s first victory over Swiatek in their seventh meeting – with Paolini having previously won only one set – and secured her a semifinal spot against the third-ranked Coco Gauff.

“Finally I won a match,” the seventh-seeded Paolini said. “I’m super happy about my level. Just feels amazing.”

Paolini has a much better record against Gauff, having triumphed over the American in their past three meetings.

Gauff cruised into a second straight semifinal with a 6-3, 6-0 victory over Laura Siegemund. She lost to eventual champion Amanda Anisimova in the final four at the China Open last week.

The top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka will face Jessica Pegula in the other semifinal.

Sabalenka extended her winning streak at Wuhan to 20 matches with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over eighth-seeded Elena Rybakina.

The U.S. Open champion won the WTA 1000-level tournament in 2018, ’19 and again last year on her return to the Chinese city.

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.

Earlier Friday, Pegula went to a third set for a seventh consecutive match. The sixth seed 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.