BEIJING, China -- Daria Kasatkina of Russia put an end to the six-match winning streak of No.12-seeded Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka in their first-ever meeting, notching a 6-4, 7-6(5) victory in the second round of the China Open on Tuesday.

Kasatkina came into Beijing having lost her last four matches, three of those being defeats to Top 20 players Madison Keys (twice) and Johanna Konta. The 45th-ranked Russian, however, has righted the ship with a pair of wins this week, following up her opening-round triumph over Peng Shuai with a one-hour and 53-minute victory over Sabalenka.

"Both wins were so good," Kasatkina said, after the match. "Now I feel a little bit more free because I finished before midnight, so I have all day to enjoy and prepare for the next one," she continued, with a laugh. 

"Both matches were very tough, but in the end I was very happy I was able to manage,” the Russian added.

World No.14 Sabalenka reeled off six straight wins just last week to successfully defend her Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open title, but she exits Beijing winless this week following her first-round bye. Sabalenka faced 15 break points in the clash, and while she saved 11, Kasatkina garnered four breaks of service, one more than Sabalenka could muster.

“I was consistent for all the match, from the first point to the last point," Kasatkina stated. "I was in charge of my emotions, I was playing very solid. So I think this was the key, I was playing from the first point to the last point, which is the most important against players like Aryna who is hitting very hard."

Both players survived break points en route to 2-2, but it was in that game where Kasatkina started to pull ahead in the opening frame. A flurry of errors put Sabalenka down another break point, where she promptly double faulted, handing Kasatkina the first break of the match and a 3-2 lead.  

A similar situation occurred in Sabalenka’s subsequent service game, as the Belarusian let a 40-15 lead slip before double faulting on break point once more, giving Kasatkina a 5-2 lead. However, Kasatkina was unable to serve out the set, as it became her turn to double fault on break point, and Sabalenka clawed one of the breaks back.

The combatants started to go for broke with aggressive play at this stage, and Sabalenka found winners down the line from both wings to hold for 5-4. Serving for the set for a second time, Kasatkina started the game with an inauspicious double fault, but found a stunning angled passing shot in the next point which steadied her game. 

Later in that game, the Russian’s first two set points were erased by another double fault and a Sabalenka backhand winner respectively. After pulling back to deuce, though, Sabalenka hit wide returns in the next two points, and Kasatkina clinched the one-set lead.

Sabalenka fell down a quick break in the second stanza as well, but the Wuhan champion rediscovered her powerful play as the set wore on, firing a ferocious forehand winner to level the set at 2-2. The players exchanged breaks after long games once more, as the fiery hitting of Sabalenka and the outstanding court coverage of Kasatkina were evenly matched.

The Belarusian faced three break points in her next game, but used her aggressive tactics to stave each of them off and hold to take a 4-3 lead. However, Kasatkina used incredible depth of shot to make it through the rest of her service games with relative ease, eventually holding serve at 6-5 to send the second set into a pivotal tiebreak.

Much like the set itself, the tiebreak was closely contested in its entirety. At 4-4, a strong Sabalenka serve was returned wide by Kasatkina, putting the seeded player on the brink of forcing a decider. However, Sabalenka missed her replies in the next two points, giving Kasatkina a 6-5 lead and match point. There, the Russian knocked a brilliant backhand pass down the line to grasp a well-earned victory over a Top 20 player.

Kasatkina will see a compatriot across the net from her in her next match, when she will face current Russian No.1 Ekaterina Alexandrova. Alexandrova, ranked seven spots ahead of Kasatkina at World No.38, scored her first Top 10 win of the season on Monday when she upset Wimbledon champion Simona Halep.