Nikola Bartunkova defeats Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 6-3 at China Open

Nikola Bartunkova defeated Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 6-3 in the third round of the China Open in Beijing on Sunday, eliminating the tournament's second seed in straight sets.

The 20-year-old Czech, ranked 34th, produced four aces and completed the victory in one hour and 35 minutes; her win left the China Open without its top two seeds. “I focused on myself, to be calm,” Bartunkova said. “She’s a legend … so I’m really happy that I won the match,” she said of the four-time Grand Slam champion.

Sabalenka squandered five chances to break serve in the sixth game of the first set as Bartunkova defended strongly and hit deep. The 28-year-old from Belarus put on a cap for the eighth game of the first set as the players switched between playing in the shade and the sun. Sabalenka is a former world number one and a four-time Grand Slam champion.

A frustrated Sabalenka tossed her racquet at a break down in the fourth game of the second set, and lost on the first match point when she returned into the net. The defeat ended Sabalenka's run at the China Open.

Top seed Elena Rybakina, who weeks earlier replaced Sabalenka as World No 1, was ousted by Alina Charaeva in the second round on Saturday. In the men's 500-level event also taking place, top seed Alexander Zverev was scheduled to play Novak Djokovic later on Sunday in the quarterfinals. The 39-year-old Serbian great enters the match with an extraordinary unbeaten streak in Beijing, and Zverev — last month’s US Open champion — is in the running for the top men’s ranking.

Bartunkova will next face Austria’s Sinja Kraus in the round of 16.