Jannik Sinner rallied to beat Roman Safiullin, while Aryna Sabalenka extended her winning streak and British No 1 Jack Draper made it through to the doubles semi-finals in Japan.
Sinner collected his second consecutive comeback win in Beijing as he rallied past Roman Safiullin 3-6 6-2 6-3 to maintain his record of having reached at least the quarter-finals at every tour-level event he has played in 2024.
While Sinner was on court, the World Anti-Doping Agency announced it was seeking a ban of one to two years for the US Open champion who tested positive twice for the anabolic steroid clostebol in March, but he was cleared in August by an independent tribunal who determined he was not to blame.
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Jannik Sinner says he was surprised that World Anti-Doping Agency have appealed against the decision to clear the world No 1 after he twice tested positive for a banned substance
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Highlights of the China Open match between Jannik Sinner and Roman Safiullin
Sinner’s fate will now be determined by the Switzerland-based Court of Arbitration for Sport after WADA filed an appeal.
The next challenge for the Italian will be a last-eight meeting with Jiri Lehecka, who earlier overcame Roberto Bautista Agut 3-6 6-2 6-1.
Third seed Daniil Medvedev defeated Adrian Mannarino 7-6 (8-6) 6-2 to set up a meeting with rising Italian Flavio Cobolli, who eliminated qualifier Pavel Kotov 6-4 6-2.
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Highlights of the China Open match between Aryna Sabalenka and Mananchaya Sawangkaew
In the women’s draw, US Open champion Sabalenka advanced to the third round with a 6-4 6-1 win over Thai qualifier Mananchaya Sawangkaew.
“In the first set, I was struggling a little bit with the rhythm,” said Sabalenka. “In the second set, seems like everything started working much better. I think that’s why it was more smooth and better quality.”
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Next up for the three-time major winner is American Ashlyn Krueger, who beat New Zealand’s Lulu Sun 6-1 7-6 (7-4).
Qinwen Zheng eased into the third round with a 6-1 6-1 win against Kamilla Rakhimova.
Olympic gold medallist Zheng was backed by a 15,000 capacity crowd as she marked her return to Beijing.
The fifth seed won in an hour and 15 minutes and will next face Nadia Podoroska.
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“Atmosphere was insane,” Zheng said. “I never thought it will be so full in the centre court. They put on my [favourite Chinese pop song]. They just did everything for me.
“Honestly when I played last year in China Open, I remember it wasn’t that full. Today I see there’s nearly no empty seat.”
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Machac wins singles and teams up with Draper to make doubles semis
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In Japan, Tomas Machac upset fifth-seeded Tommy Paul 2-6 6-3 7-6 (7-4) to advance to the quarter-finals and continued a disappointing week for the top-seeded players in Tokyo.
Defending champion Ben Shelton is the only other seeded player left in the quarter-final draw.
Czech Machac then teamed up with Britain’s Jack Draper in doubles with the duo progressing to the semi-finals after an impressive victory against French pair Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul, 5-7 6-2 10-8.
Draper returns to singles action in Japan on Sunday when he takes on Ugo Humbert for a place in the semi-finals from around 7am – live on Sky Sports Tennis.
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What’s coming up on Sky Sports Tennis in October?
- Shanghai Masters – ATP 1000 (October 2-13 – Jack Draper in action)
- Wuhan Open – WTA 1000 (October 6-12 – Emma Raducanu in action)
- Almaty Open, Kazakhstan – ATP 250 (October 14-20)
- Stockholm Open, Sweden – ATP 250 (October 14-20)
- European Open, Antwerp – ATP 250 (October 14-20)
- Japan Open, Osaka – WTA 250 (October 14-20)
- Ningbo Open, China – WTA 500 (October 14-20)
- Erste Bank Open, Vienna – ATP 500 (October 21-27)
- Swiss Indoors, Basel – ATP 500 (October 21-27)
- Guangzhou Open, China – WTA 250 (October 21-27)
- Toray Pan Pacific Open Tennis, Tokyo – WTA 500 (October 21-27)
Sky Sports+ has officially launched and will be integrated into Sky TV, streaming service NOW and the Sky Sports app, giving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost. Find out more here.