Sevastova first into China Open QF after vanquishing Vekic

BEIJING, China -- Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia kicked off the third round of the China Open with a win on Wednesday, dispatching Donna Vekic of Croatia, 6-3, 6-2, to become the first player to reach the quarterfinals at the 2018 edition of the Beijing event.

World No.20 Sevastova reached the quarterfinals upon her China Open debut in 2010, but had not been this far since then. The Latvian surged into this round for the first time in eight years by extending her head-to-head record against Vekic to 5-0 after one hour and 21 minutes of play.

There is still an outside chance for Sevastova to qualify for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, but only if she wins the title in Beijing. Sevastova kept her hopes alive by winning 65 percent of points on both her first and second serves and breaking Vekic five times. Vekic had 22 winners, nine more than Sevastova, but was undone by 29 unforced errors.

Sevastova awaits the winner of the remaining third-round match on Wednesday night, between No.9 seed Sloane Stephens of the United States and Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia. Sevastova ousted Stephens to reach her first-ever Grand Slam semifinal at the US Open one month ago.

The initial stages of the first set were marked by frequent visits by the trainer to Sevastova, who seemed to be perturbed by discomfort on the left side of her midsection. But being hampered did not affect her play adversely, as the Latvian was completely untroubled on serve en route to a 4-3 lead.

The following game on Vekic’s serve proved to be decisive, as the Croatian struggled through a long game, being unable to convert six game points. The Sevastova backhand was singing during the game, reaching break point twice. The Latvian converted her second opportunity, as a point that had both players charging to net ended in her favor when Vekic could not track down a defensive lob.

Sevastova ran out the set with ease, holding at love for the 6-3 lead. Sevastova never faced a break point and won a staggering 90 percent of her second-service points during the opening frame.

Sevastova began the second set with a break, and then survived four break points before holding for 2-0. Once an error-prone Vekic dropped serve once more to hand Sevastova a 3-0, double-break lead, the Latvian had taken a commanding lead.

Vekic was twice able to claw one break back, only to drop serve in the subsequent game each time. Despite inconsistent serving at the tail end of the match, Sevastova was routinely able to break serve handily, hitting a forehand winner at 4-2 to set up break point, and reclaiming the two-break lead after a wide backhand by Vekic.

Finally, after five consecutive service breaks by the contestants, Sevastova was able to hold serve just when she needed to, zooming to a swift hold to close out the match, and book her spot in the final eight in Beijing.

More to follow...