Ukrainian tennis player Marta Kostyuk advanced to the fourth round of the prestigious WTA 1000 tournament in Beijing after defeating “neutral” player Aleksandra Sasnovich in the third round, reports Baltimore Chronicle. Kostyuk began the tournament in the second round thanks to her seeded status, overcoming German Ella Seidel in straight sets, conceding only two games to her opponent.
Kostyuk remained the only Ukrainian representative in this stage of the tournament, as Elina Svitolina withdrew, and Yuliya Starodubtseva and Dayana Yastremska were eliminated in the first and second rounds respectively.
In the third round, Kostyuk faced 130th-ranked “neutral” player Aleksandra Sasnovich, who secured her place in the main draw by defeating higher-ranked opponents — Indonesia’s Janice Tjen and former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka. This marked their second career encounter; previously, in October 2022 at the Guadalajara tournament, Kostyuk defeated Sasnovich in straight sets.
The first set in Beijing was decided in the seventh game when Kostyuk broke Sasnovich’s serve and maintained her advantage to take the set 6:4. In the second set, the Ukrainian achieved two consecutive breaks and led 4:1. In the eighth game, Sasnovich had five break points on Kostyuk’s serve to narrow the gap, but Kostyuk successfully defended them and converted her match point on the second attempt. The match lasted 1 hour and 25 minutes. Sasnovich failed to convert any of her 11 break points, while Kostyuk achieved a 100-percent conversion rate.
Third round WTA 1000 Beijing result:
Aleksandra Sasnovich — Marta Kostyuk (Ukraine, 23) 0:2 (4:6, 2:6).
This marks Kostyuk’s second consecutive appearance in the round of 16 at WTA tournaments, having previously reached the same stage at the US Open. Her next opponent at the Beijing “thousand” event will be world No. 7, American Jessica Pegula, who defeated Britain’s Emma Raducanu in three sets. The match is scheduled for Wednesday, October 1.
Earlier we wrote that International Paralympic Committee restores membership rights of Russia and Belarus.