Maja Chwalinska beats Maria Sakkari with a match-ending fourth break in Wuhan

Chwalinska sweeps the opening set

Chwalinska lost only one first-serve point in the opening set and sealed it with an angled passing shot. Sakkari committed 14 opening-set unforced errors. Chwalinska then missed a break point in the second set’s opening game.

Sakkari answers with a forehand break

Sakkari broke in the second game of the second set with a forehand winner and maintained that advantage throughout the second set. She struck 17 winners against eight unforced errors in the set to force a third.

The deciding set ends on match point

Both players held through the deciding set’s first 11 games. Chwalinska saved her only break point with a drive-volley winner in the fifth game; Sakkari saved the first five she faced.

Chwalinska used a drop shot followed by a lob to open Sakkari’s final service game. Sakkari netted a game-point forehand, then a short backhand on Chwalinska’s first match point.

Across the match, Chwalinska saved four of five break points and held 12 of her 13 service games. Those holds came without an ace: she finished with no aces and just one double fault, while Sakkari totaled three aces and three double faults.

The match-ending break of Sakkari’s serve was the fourth that Chwalinska had secured over the course of the quarterfinal. Sakkari finished ahead in the total number of winners, 37-25, but she also committed more unforced errors than Chwalinska, 35-23. After two hours and 35 minutes, No. 16 seed Chwalinska had earned a semifinal against No. 7 seed Iga Swiatek. That next match would reunite two players who had previously been partners in junior doubles.