Swiatek reaches Wuhan quarter-finals as more seeds suffer shock exits

Iga Swiatek reached another milestone on Thursday, defeating American lucky loser Ashlyn Krueger 6-1, 6-4 to secure her place in the Wuhan Open quarter-finals for the second consecutive year.

The six-time Grand Slam champion claimed the 150th WTA 1000 victory of her career, keeping her hopes alive of capturing a 13th title at this level.

Since the introduction of the Tier I/WTA 1000 format in 1990, Swiatek has become only the third player to record 150 victories within her first 50 main-draw appearances at these tournaments. She joins Martina Hingis (162 wins) and Serena Williams (153) in achieving the remarkable feat.

“I just wanted to focus on adjusting and being brave and, in the end, I’m happy that I was,” said the seventh-seeded Pole, who is looking to boost her chances of qualifying for next month’s WTA Finals.

“For sure I feel like I am playing better than at the beginning of the season, so I’m ready to push, and I’m happy to be in the quarters for sure.”

The 25-year-old will face Ann Li in the quarter-finals and remains one of only two top-10 seeds still competing after a series of major upsets in Wuhan.

More Top Seeds Fall in Wuhan

Following the surprising second-round exits of top seeds Aryna Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula, sixth seed Karolina Muchova and 10th seed Iva Jovic also saw their campaigns come to an end.

Maja Chwalinska produced an impressive performance to defeat American world number 11 Jovic 6-4, 6-1. The victory earned her a quarter-final meeting with Greek star Maria Sakkari.

Meanwhile, Diana Shnaider overcame Muchova 7-5, 6-3 to secure the fourth top-10 victory of her career. The Russian will next meet Jelena Ostapenko, with a place in the semi-finals at stake.

British player Sonay Kartal, ranked 170th in the world, continued her impressive run after eliminating ninth seed Belinda Bencic in the second round.

Kartal followed up that victory with a dominant 6-2, 6-0 win over 15th seed Jasmine Paolini, who reached the Wuhan semi-finals last year.

World number six Elina Svitolina, meanwhile, avoided the growing list of seeded casualties by defeating Chinese wild card Guo Hanyu 6-1, 6-4.

Svitolina will now face Kartal in the quarter-finals as the battle for a place in the last four intensifies at the Wuhan Open.