Top seed Aryna Sabalenka rallies to reach Wuhan Open last eight

The top seed, who has lifted the title on both her previous appearances at the WTA 1000 tournament, won only one game in the opening set before turning the match around to triumph 1-6 6-4 6-0.

"That was a really difficult battle," said Sabalenka. "Yulia always puts up a great fight. I had to work really hard to get this win.

"In the first set, it seems like whatever she would do would play well for her. I was all over the place. I'm really glad that I was able to put myself together in the second set and things clicked."

Sabalenka will next face Pole Magdalena Frech, who upset ninth seed Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-3 6-2.

The biggest upset of the day, though, saw China's Wang Xinyu delight the home fans by knocking out second seed Jessica Pegula 6-3 7-5.

China Open champion Coco Gauff continued her winning run by beating Marta Kostyuk 6-4 6-1 while there were also victories for third seed Jasmine Paolini and home favourite Zheng Qinwen.

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