WUHAN, September 21, 2019 (Press Release)
The qualifying draw for the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open was completed on Saturday with American players claiming four of the eight spots. Lauren Davis, Jennifer Brady, Christina Mchale and Bernarda Pera all secured main draw berths with wins over Lesley Kerkhove Pattinama 63 64, Yue Yuan 75 63, Xinyun Han 61 46 62 and Tamara Zidansek 75 75 respectively.
Bernarda Pera (photo: Wuhan Open VCG)
Joining them in the main draw are Russians Svetlana Kuznetsova, a former Grand Slam champion, who claimed a straight sets win over Bethanie Mattek-Sands 62 62 and Veronika Kudermetova who defeated Japan’s Kurumi Nara 61 26 75. Ukrainian Kateryna Kozlova also made it through with a hard fought victory over Rebecca Peterson 61 46 75.
China’s Lin Zhu ensured there was some home success by overcoming Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur in a three-set battle 26 61 61.
Main draw action gets underway at 11am tomorrow, Sunday 22 September with 2015 Wuhan Open Champion and seven-time Grand Slam winner Venus Willams taking center stage against compatriot Danielle Collins. Following on Center Court defending champion Aryna Sabalenka will open her account against fellow Belarussian Aliaksandra Sasnovich.
Caroline Garcia, the 2017 Wuhan Open champion will also be in action in a tough first round match-up against Daria Kasatkina.
Home hopes will be represented by Shuai Zhang who will open the first night session against 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens and be followed onto Center Court by wildcard Xiyu Wang who will take on Wimbledon finalist Barbora Strycova.
Zhang and Wang are undoubtedly part of the Li Na legacy in China, which will be celebrated in a special ceremony on Center Court on Sunday. The International Hall of Fame will pay tribute to Li Na, the first Asian player to be inducted, in an on-court presentation before the Opening Ceremony gets under way.
RESULTS – SEPTEMBER 21, 2019
Women’s
Qualifying Singles – Second Round
Qualifying – [1] V. Kudermetova (RUS) d K. Nara (JPN) 61 26 75
Qualifying – [11] K. Kozlova (UKR) d [2] R. Peterson (SWE) 61 46 75
Qualifying – L. Zhu (CHN) d [3] O. Jabeur (TUN) 26 61 61
Qualifying – [5] L. Davis (USA) d [15] Z. Diyas (KAZ) 63 64
Qualifying – [6] S. Kuznetsova (RUS) d [Alt] B. Mattek-Sands (USA) 62 62
Qualifying – [7] J. Brady (USA) d E. Perez (AUS) 75 63
Qualifying – [10] B. Pera (USA) d [8] T. Zidansek (SLO) 75 75
Qualifying – C. Mchale (USA) d X. Han (CHN) 61 46 62
