Jannik Sinner progresses to the quarter-finals in Beijing while facing a doping appeal. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) seeks a ban for Sinner despite his recent court clearance. Aryna Sabalenka continues her impressive winning streak. Jack Draper advances to the doubles semi-finals in Japan. Competitive matches result in notable outcomes across various tournaments.
Jannik Sinner battled through a challenging match to defeat Roman Safiullin, securing his second consecutive comeback victory in Beijing with scores of 3-6, 6-2, 6-3. This win ensures that Sinner has reached at least the quarter-finals in every tour-level event he has participated in this year. While Sinner was on the court, WADA announced its appeal against the independent tribunal’s decision that had previously cleared him of doping charges. Sinner expressed his surprise at this development, stating he was not expecting WADA’s appeal after being cleared of the allegations in August. The final decision now rests with the Court of Arbitration for Sport based in Switzerland. Sinner’s upcoming challenge is a quarter-final match against Jiri Lehecka, who advanced with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 win over Roberto Bautista Agut.
Aryna Sabalenka, the current US Open champion, continued her winning momentum by advancing to the third round of the women’s draw with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Thai qualifier Mananchaya Sawangkaew. Despite struggling with her rhythm in the first set, Sabalenka found her form in the second set, resulting in a smoother and higher-quality performance. Next, she will face American player Ashlyn Krueger, who recently defeated Lulu Sun 6-1, 7-6.
Adding to British success, Jack Draper progressed to the doubles semi-finals in Japan alongside his partner Tomas Machac. The pair overcame French duo Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul with a score of 5-7, 6-2, 10-8. Draper, who continues to perform well, will also return to singles action soon, facing Ugo Humbert for a place in the singles semi-finals.
In other tournament results, Daniil Medvedev defeated Adrian Mannarino 7-6 (8-6), 6-2, setting up a match against Flavio Cobolli, who won against Pavel Kotov 6-4, 6-2. In Beijing, Qinwen Zheng advanced with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Kamilla Rakhimova, much to the delight of a 15,000-strong home crowd. Zheng, who triumphed in just over an hour, will next compete against Nadia Podoroska. This round also saw Tomas Machac upsetting fifth-seeded Tommy Paul 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) to move into the quarter-finals in Tokyo, continuing a trend of upsets among top-seeded players this week.
The latest tennis tournaments have seen significant achievements and emerging challenges for key players, highlighting the dynamic and competitive nature of the sport.
