World number 2019 Zhu Lin beat 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu 3-6 6-4 6-1 in the first round of the Ningbo Open. Raducanu required two medical time-outs and was in physical discomfort during the match.
Raducanu went up a break in the second game to take a 3-0 lead. Zhu Lin broke back in the fifth game for 2-3. Raducanu earned earned a second break in the sixth game to take a 4-2 lead, but Zhu Lin pulled back on serve for the second time. Raducanu broke for the third time to take a 5-3 lead earning his chance to serve out for the first set. The British player faced three break points, but she saved them before converting her fifth set point to close out the opening set 6-3.
Zhu went up a break twice in the second and sixth games of the second set, but Raducanu pulled back on serve both times to draw level to 4-4. Raducanu required a medical time-out when she was trailing 4-3 in the second set.
Zhu Lin closed out the second set 6-4 with another break in the 10th game, when Raducanu was serving to stay in the set.
Raducanu struggled physically for the second consecutive tournament. Last week the British player withdrew due to dizziness while she was trailing 6-1 5-1 in the first round of the Wuhan Open.
Dayana Yastremska beat Victoria Mboko 6-3 7-6 (7-3). Yastremska came back from 2-5 down in the second set. Mboko has lost four consecutive matches since her WTA 1000 title in Montreal. She suffered from a wrist injury during her winning campaign in Montreal and pulled out in Cincinnati.
The match featured a total of 16 double faults and 11 breaks of serve. Yastremska went up a break to take a 2-0 lead, but Mboko pulled back on serve in the third game. Mboko earned a second break in the fifth game to take a 3-2 lead. Yastremska won the final four games with two consecutive breaks to close out the first set 6-3.
Yastremska went up an early break in the first game of the second set. Mboko converted her fourth break-back point in the second game. Yastremska broke for the second time in the third game to take a 2-1 lead, but Mboko pulled back on serve at love to draw level to 2-2. Mboko won three consecutive games thanks to a break of serve to open up a 5-2 lead. Yastremska won three games in a row to draw level to 5-5 forcing the match to the tie-break. The Ukrainian player earned three mini-breaks to win the tie-break 7-3 setting up a match against number 3 seed Elena Rybakina.
