China’s Wang Xinyu continues fairy-tale Berlin Open with victory over Paula Badosa
After beating Coco Gauff in straight sets, 23-year-old overcame another top-10 player to reach the semi-finals
Wang Xinyu’s remarkable run at the WTA 500 Berlin Open continued as she advanced past world No 10 Paula Badosa on Friday to reach the semi-finals.
The No 8 seed retired with a right hip injury after losing the first set 6-1.
The victory came just 24 hours after Wang had upset newly crowned French Open champion and world No 2 Coco Gauff 6-3, 6-3.
“I just try to play good tennis and hope to carry over to the next match,” Wang said after Badosa’s retirement. “It was good for me to come through the qualifying stages, and it’s always good to win a few more matches – especially when you just switched from clay to grass.
“For me it’s important to play more matches and as you win more you get better on grass. I almost lost in the first round of qualifying, and sometimes you just have to keep going and believe that you can do it, no matter what the score is or how you feel at the moment.
“You just have to believe that the next point is always a new opportunity and you will seize it.”