Gauff set to face 16-year-old Sun Xinran in Beijing as China Open hit by upset wave
At the China Open in Beijing, Coco Gauff is scheduled to play 16-year-old Chinese junior No. 1 Sun Xinran on Monday, as the tournament has otherwise been marked by a wave of upsets involving the top two seeds.
A tournament full of upsets
The WTA 1000 China Open in Beijing has seen a significant upset wave over the past day, with top seed Elena Rybakina and No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka both exiting within 24 hours of each other. Two of the tour's newest and youngest Grand Slam champions, however, stayed in control. No. 5 seed and last year's runner-up Linda Noskova needed just 55 minutes to beat Viktorija Golubic 6-2, 6-1, while No. 4 seed and Roland Garros champion Mirra Andreeva recovered from 4-2 down in the first set to defeat Polina Kudermetova 6-4, 6-1 in 68 minutes. In the fourth round, Noskova will face No. 19 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, who beat No. 11 seed Diana Shnaider 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, while Andreeva will meet Daria Snigur, who routed Taylah Preston 6-1, 6-0 in just 47 minutes.
Gauff vs. a rising teenager
Elsewhere in the draw, 22-year-old Coco Gauff — a two-time Grand Slam champion with 12 WTA titles overall — is set to play 16-year-old Chinese player Sun Xinran on Monday. Sun is the world's top-ranked junior and recently won the US Open junior title; the Beijing event marks her tour-level debut in her home country. She has impressed so far, beating Eva Lys 6-1, 3-0 (retired) in the first round and Cristina Bucsa 6-4, 7-5 in the second.
Gauff said she views the teenager as a promising player. "I know she's going to play great tennis against me. I've been in that position," Gauff said after her second-round win. Sun, speaking in Mandarin, said she was happy for the chance to face a Grand Slam champion whose matches she has watched on television, adding that she will give her best effort. Gauff also reflected on her own breakthrough, noting she made her WTA main-draw debut at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships at age 15, reaching the fourth round from qualifying and beating her idol Venus Williams along the way.
