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Rampant Wang demolishes Olympic champ Puig

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WUHAN, China: Rising star Wang Qiang demolished Olympic champion Monica Puig 6-3, 6-1 at the Wuhan Open in China on Thursday, cruising into the semifinals to the delight of the home crowd.


The impressive victory was the 14th on the trot on home soil for Wang, who has said she wants to follow the footsteps of China’s two-time Grand Slam winner Li Na. With the fans firmly behind her, Wang made a breathless start to the match, putting her Puerto Rican challenger on the back foot.


Puig, who came into the quarters with an upset win over world number two Caroline Wozniacki on Wednesday, switched gears and tried a more aggressive approach, but was unable to faze the local favourite.


Wang was even more dominant in the second set and wrapped up the match in just over an hour, having already made history by becoming the first Chinese player to reach the quarterfinals of the Wuhan Open, a WTA Premier 5 tournament.


“Today’s win makes me very, very happy,” Wang said. “This is the first time I’ve reached... (these stages) of a Premier 5 tournament.”


Wang’s impressive run at Wuhan includes a shock victory in the second round over world number seven Karolina Pliskova.


Earlier, Australia’s Ashleigh Barty had to dig deep to overcome Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, beating the Russian 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 to secure her semifinal berth.


In-form Barty is currently ranked 17th in the world, and a strong finish in Wuhan — where the winner will get 900 points — could help her inch up the rankings before the end of the season. She will face Aryna Sabalenka — who beat Dominika Cibulkova 7-5, 6-3 — in the semifinal. — AFP


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