Guo Hanyu Stuns Sorana Cirstea With Remarkable Wuhan Open Comeback
Sports Correspondent: Imran Sohail
China’s Guo Hanyu produced a stunning comeback to defeat 12th seed Sorana Cirstea 1-6, 7-6(8/6), 7-5 in the first round of the Wuhan Open on Tuesday.
The 28-year-old wildcard, primarily known as a doubles specialist and ranked 240th in singles, recovered from a set and 0-4 down to claim one of the tournament’s biggest upsets.
Guo saved three match points in the second-set tiebreak before overcoming a 3-5 deficit in the deciding set. She completed the victory after two hours and 41 minutes of play.
Following the match, Guo became emotional while speaking about her father, who has reportedly been seriously ill since July.
She explained that her family’s situation had made it difficult to enjoy tennis and maintain her usual mental focus. Despite those challenges, she managed to deliver a determined performance in front of the home crowd.
Guo will next face American Katie Volynets, ranked 88th in the world, for a place in the round of 16.
Sakkari Eliminates Kostyuk
Greece’s Maria Sakkari defeated Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 in the second round, dealing a setback to Kostyuk’s hopes of qualifying for her first WTA Finals.
World number 10 Kostyuk needed a strong run in Wuhan to improve her chances of securing one of the remaining places in the eight-player season-ending tournament.
Sakkari, a former world number three, recovered after losing the opening set and dominated the final two sets to advance.
The Greek will meet either wildcard Wang Xiyu or Mia Pohankova in the last 16.
Sabalenka and Pegula Learn Their Next Opponents
American Ann Li advanced to a second-round meeting with top seed Aryna Sabalenka after Colombia’s Camila Osorio retired with a lower back injury. Li was leading 6-1, 3-0 when the match ended.
Meanwhile, former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko swept past qualifier Daria Kasatkina 6-1, 6-1 to set up a last-16 clash with second seed Jessica Pegula, last year’s Wuhan Open runner-up.
