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Match Details
Fixture: (1) Aryna Sabalenka vs Yulia Putintseva
Date: October 10, 2024
Tournament: Wuhan Open 2024
Round: Third Round (Round of 16)
Venue: Optics Valley International Tennis Center, Wuhan, China
Category: WTA 1000
Surface: Hardcourt
Prize Money: $3,221,715
Live Telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | India - Sony Sports Network | Canada - TSN
Aryna Sabalenka vs Yulia Putintseva preview
Top seed Aryna Sabalenka will look to continue her pursuit of a fourth title in the year when she takes on Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan in the third round of the 2024 Wuhan Open.
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Sabalenka has been on a sensational run this year, capturing three titles, and chasing the No. 1 position from Iga Swiatek as the season closes. The Belarusian entered the Wuhan Open after a quarterfinal loss at the China Open, losing 6-7(5), 6-2, 4-6 to Karolina Muchova.
The former World No. 1 has had red-hot performances on hard courts. Her three titles in 2024 have come on them with wins in Melbourne (Australian Open), New York (US Open), and Cincinnati. After receiving an opening-round bye in Wuhan, the top seed opened her campaign with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Katerina Siniakova in the second round.
Meanwhile, Putintseva has a 37-20 win/loss record in 2024, winning one title in the season. Most of the better results for the Kazakh player came on the grass, as she won the Rothesay Classic with a 6-1, 7-6(8) win over Ajla Tomljanovic in the final. She also secured a marquee victory over Iga Swiatek at Wimbledon, winning 3-6, 6-1, 6-2.
On hard courts, the World No. 35 had her best showing at the Miami Open, where she reached the quarterfinals, losing 6-7(4), 6-1, 3-6 to Victoria Azarenka. In Wuhan, she opened her campaign with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Zhang Shuai in the first round. In the second round, she won 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 knocking out the 15th-seeded Donna Vekic.
Aryna Sabalenka vs Yulia Putintseva head-to-head
Putintseva has a 1-0 lead in the head-to-head over Sabalenka. They only met at the 2019 US Open, with the Kazakh player winning 6-3, 7-6(3) in the second round.
Aryna Sabalenka vs Yulia Putintseva odds
(Odds will be updated once available)
Aryna Sabalenka vs Yulia Putintseva prediction
Sabalenka has 14 hard-court titles including three hard-court Majors. She is a two-time defending champion in Wuhan having won the event in 2018 and 2019. She defeated Annett Kontaveit 6-3, 6-3 in the 2018 final, and secured a 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 win over Alison Riske in the 2019 final.
Contrarily, hard courts have been Putintseva's Achilles' heel. The Kazakh player has a mere 49 percent win record on the surface. She has not won a title on the surface yet but has reached three hard-court finals in her career. The last hard-court final came for her at the 2021 Astana Open where she lost 6-1, 4-6, 3-6 to Alison Van Uytvanck.
Therefore, given the Belarusian's momentum on hard courts, Sabalenka will be the undoubted favorite in the match.
Pick: Aryna Sabalenka to win in straight sets
