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Barty downs Kenin, Halep pulls out

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WUHAN, China: World number one Ash Barty fended off a late comeback attempt by American Sofia Kenin to reach the Wuhan Open quarterfinals on Wednesday, while Simona Halep retired from her match due to a lower back injury. After cruising through the first set without any trouble, Barty fought back from a break down in the next, saving two set points to overcome Kenin 6-3, 7-5 for her third win over the 20-year-old Guangzhou champion in four meetings this season. Next up for the Australian top seed will be Petra Martic who defeated qualifier Veronika Kudermetova 6-3, 6-1.


Former French Open champion Halep was forced to quit in the opening set of her encounter with wildcard Elena Rybakina while trailing 5-4 after feeling sharp pain. “It’s a lower back (injury). I think it’s more muscle, but I don’t know yet because I didn’t check it properly,” the fourth seed told a news conference. The Romanian had suffered a herniated disk late last year which ruled her out of the season-ending WTA Finals. “At four-all, 0-30, with the backhand. I had a sharp pain. I don’t know yet (if it is the same as the previous injury). It looks a little bit different but it’s still the same zone.” — Reuters


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