Karolina Muchova ended Aryna Sabalenka’s impressive 15-match winning streak with a victory of 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-4 in the quarterfinals of the China Open on Friday.
Muchova, ranked 49th, saved set points in the first set and came back from being down 4-2 in the third set to win the match, which lasted 2 hours and 46 minutes.
This win marks the third time Muchova has defeated the three-time major champion, bringing her lead in their head-to-head matchups to 3-1.
Sabalenka’s winning streak began with a title in Cincinnati in August and included her championship win at the U.S. Open last month. She also won the Australian Open earlier this year and had a previous best streak of 15 wins during the 2020-21 seasons.
Muchova will face Zheng Qinwen, the gold medalist from the Paris Olympics, in the semifinals after Zheng came back to beat Russia’s Mirra Andreeva. This win allowed Zheng to continue her quest to become Beijing’s first home-grown champion.
The fifth-seeded Zheng had to recover from a break down in the final set, winning with scores of 5-7, 6-0, 6-4. She is the first Chinese player to reach the semifinals in Beijing since Wang Qiang in 2018.
