SAP Inside the Numbers: Wozniacki's late-season heroics, Wang's star power shines
SAP Inside the Numbers is an ongoing series which looks to preview and reflect on the tour's major swings throughout the season. SAP and WTA Insider dig deeper into the numbers to recap a revealing Asian Swing, which saw Caroline Wozniacki and Aryna Sabalenka lay down a marker, Karolina Pliskova salvage her Singapore hopes, and Wang Qiang emerge as China's next great hope.
2018 Asian Swing Champions
Premier Champions:
Beijing: Caroline Wozniacki d. Anastasija Sevastova, 6–3, 6–3
Wuhan: Aryna Sabalenka d. Anett Konaveit, 6–3, 6–3
Tokyo: Karolina Pliskova d. Naomi Osaka, 6-4, 6-4.
International Champions:
Seoul: Kiki Bertens d. Ajla Tomljanovic, 7–6(2), 4–6, 6–2.
Tianjin: Caroline Garcia d. Karolina Pliskova
Guangzhou: Wang Qiang d. Yulia Putintseva, 6–1, 6–2.
Hiroshima: Hsieh Su-Wei d. Amanda Anisimova, 6-2, 6-2.
Hong Kong: Dayana Yastremska d. Wang Qiang, 6–2, 6–1.
While many players struggle physically and mentally after the US Open, the indefatigable Dane only gets stronger. Wozniacki's run to her 2nd China Open title was a dominant one. For the 1st time in over 7 years, she did not lose a set en route to a title. No one has won more titles after the US Open than Wozniacki, and her 30 career titles puts her 4th on the active list of title winners, behind only Serena Williams, Venus Williams, and Maria Sharapova.
With the Beijing win, Wozniacki has captured 3 of the 9 biggest titles over the last 12 months, all on hardcourts. Only Wozniacki and US Open champion Naomi Osaka have won more than 1 over that span.
2017 WTA Finals: Caroline Wozniacki
2018 Australian Open: Caroline Wozniacki
2018 Indian Wells: Naomi Osaka
2018 Miami: Sloane Stephens
2018 Madrid: Petra Kvitova
2018 French Open: Simona Halep
2018 Wimbledon: Angelique Kerber
2018 US Open: Naomi Osaka
2018 China Open: Caroline Wozniacki
Welcome to the stage, Wang Qiang. In the midst of a breakout season, Wang kicked off her Asian Swing with a run to the semifinals in Hiroshima before winning her 2nd title of the year on home soil in Guangzhou. Wang lost just 18 games during her Guangzhou title run, the fewest games dropped en route to a title this season.
Wang's Guangzhou win elevated her to the important and prestigious position of being the highest-ranked Chinese player, a role that either serve as a buoy or an anchor. The 26-year-old's reaction proved her worth. Wang went on to make back-to-back semifinals in Wuhan and Beijing, becoming the 1st Chinese player to make the Beijing semifinal since two-time major champion Li Na in 2012.
Wang's run through the two biggest tournaments in China spoke volumes, but she continued to roll off home soil. She defeated two Top 20 players in Hong Kong - Elina Svitolina and Garbiñe Muguruza - to make yet another final.
In all, Wang posted 6 Top 20 wins over the Asian Swing, including a 6-0, 6-0 win over 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, two wins over Tokyo champion Karolina Pliskova, and she ended Aryna Sabalenka's 8-match winning streak in Beijing. As a result, Wang posted the biggest rankings jump of any player during the Asian Swing and earned herself a wildcard into the Henqin Life WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai.
Wang became just the 5th Chinese player to be ranked in the Top 25, and results through September and October weren't the only highlight for Chinese tennis. Zhang Shuai, the woman Wang overtook to become China's new No.1, also had an outstanding Asian swing. Zhang posted an 8-3 record over 3 events, making the Round of 16 in Wuhan, quarterfinals in Beijing, and semifinals of Hong Kong.
The Asian Swing also introduced the world to 17-year-old Wang Xiyu. The talented lefty won the 2018 US Open girls title in September and put together a successful qualifying campaign in Wuhan to make her WTA main draw debut, where she held multiple match points on No.14 Daria Kasatkina before losing 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(8).
The WTA Youth Brigade also enjoyed a fruitful Asian Swing, with many youngsters building on the momentum they earned during the summer swing. Four players aged 20 or younger made finals during the Asian Swing: Aryna Sabalenka (Wuhan champion), Darya Yastremska (Hong Kong champion), Naomi Osaka (Tokyo finalist), Amanda Anisimova (Hiroshima finalist).
Sabalenka and Osaka were the standouts. Sabalenka has made the quarterfinals or better at 5 of her last 7 tournaments, boosting her ranking from outside the Top 30 at the start of the summer, to winning her biggest title in Wuhan, and putting her in contention to qualify for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global as an alternate and on the verge of making her Top 10 debut by season's end.
With questions swirling over how Osaka would handle her US Open success, the Japanese trailblazer answered definitively. In her only two events since New York, Osaka has made the semifinals or better in both.
