Plea for the semi-finalists of the China Open

In a tournament full of surprises, Thursday's two China Open quarterfinals returned to norm, with heavily favored players defeating opponents from outside the PIF WTA Rankings Top 100.

On Friday, disturbing and unexpected events occurred again in Beijing.

Beijing: Results | Order of play | Pulls

Karolina Muchova ended Aryna Sabalenka's 15-match winning streak in a dramatic battle that lasted almost three hours. Later, 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva, who braved a stadium full of Chinese fans for the longest time, pushed Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen to her limits. Zheng won a thriller in two and a half hours.

Muchova is by far the lowest-ranked player in the draw (No. 49) and the lowest-ranked player to advance to the semifinals in Beijing since Monica Niculescu did so 13 years ago. This is only the seventh tournament she has competed in since returning from wrist surgery.

“If you had asked me three months ago when I was just starting to play, I would have no idea what direction it was going to take,” Muchova said afterwards. “I played in the USA (US Open) and here in the semifinals.

“It's crazy.”

Welcome to your China Open semifinals. We represent each of the four participants.

No. 5 Zheng Qinwen vs. Karolina Muchova

The Mukhova case

Call it what you will – courage, bravery, drive, determination, fortitude – Muchova has plenty of it. Against Sabalenka she saved two set points in the first frame and won the last four games with a 4-2 deficit in the third.

It was her third consecutive win over the world No. 2.

“I'm glad I tried at the end of the first set,” Muchova said. “I just tried to fight for every ball. It was worth it in the end. I’m glad I got the win.”

It's hard to believe that the 28-year-old from the Czech Republic has only won one career title (five years ago in Seoul). She reached the 2023 final at Roland Garros and the semifinals of the US Open the last two years. After her third straight win against a top 5 player, Muchova is aiming for her second WTA 1000 final.

And she's still not at 100 percent; the comeback has given her little opportunity to work on her fitness. But Muchova's athletic and surprisingly diverse game has gotten her this far.

“I'm really happy that I'm back on tour and can play these big matches,” Muchova said. “Not too shabby.”

Muchova won her first match against Zheng two years ago in Madrid. But in July Zheng won the final in Palermo 6:4, 4:6, 6:2.

“Tough fight,” Muchova said of Zheng. “She serves really well and moves really well. It’s the semi-finals, it won’t be an easy game.”

One thing to keep in mind: Only world No. 1 Iga Swiatek has a better win rate on hard courts this year than Muchova at 11-2 (84.6 percent). A win over Zheng would push her past Swiatek.

The case for Zheng

Playing in front of a biased audience brings a lot of pressure, and so far Zheng has been more than up to it. After Zhengzhou and the WTA Elite Trophy in Zhuhai last year, she has now reached the semi-finals in three of her four career main rounds in China.

With a 2-4 loss in the third set on Friday against Mirra Andreeva, the 21-year-old won the last four games of the match. The final ended 5:7, 6:0, 6:4. It was her second straight comeback win – she turned her match around in the fourth round after losing the first set to Amanda Anisimova.

This resilience becomes something of a defining characteristic for Zheng. At the recent US Open, she lost the first set in her first two games against Anisimova and Erika Andreeva, fought her way back to victory and finally reached the quarterfinals.

“When I was down, I just concentrated point by point,” Zheng explained. “When I lost the first set, it was only a few points. I made some changes in the second sentence. I was more consistent, had better serves and a higher percentage. I was even more excited in the second and third sets.”

Zheng needs to clean up her serve games if she wants to beat Muchova. Andreeva enjoyed her second serve and broke it six times.

However, she showed some creativity under intense pressure. With serve at 3-4 in the third set, Zheng unleashed a drop shot to equalize and scored another on Andreeva's decisive break that followed. The impressive offerings that had served her so well came to the fore again in the final game with two irrevocable serves.

Zheng has a 12-2 record in WTA tournaments in China, the best mark by a woman since 2000 (at least 10 games, excluding the Olympics). In her home country, she has a perfect 9-0 record against players outside the top 20.

No. 4 Coco Gauff vs. No. 15 Paula Badosa

The case for Gauff

This was the 20-year-old American after she advanced to the semifinals with a 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 comeback win over qualifier Yuliia Starodubtseva:

“I was just trying to find my groove out there. There are many things I'm working on. For me it's just trying to trust the process.

“To be honest, I treated it like an exercise.”

Wait – what? Are you approaching a WTA 1000 quarterfinal-like workout? Maybe that's the way to see a win that gave her an additional $175,000 and 167 ranking points over the previous round. She must use this mindset against Badosa.

Gauff is in turmoil after failing to defend her US Open title, losing in the fourth round to Emma Navarro. She has a new coaching team – Matt Daly and long-time advisor Jean-Christophe Faurel – who want to instill in her the offensive confidence that took her to a major tournament last year.

This is Gauff's second consecutive semifinal at the China Open and her third place at this stage of a WTA 1000 this year. Hard courts are her favorite place; Only Aryna Sabalenka (33), Emma Navarro (30) and Iga Swiatek (29) have won more games on this ground this year than their 26.

And while she was quick to downplay her progress in Beijing, Gauff admits: “When you're in the moment, everyone wants to win.”

The story between Gauff and Badosa is, well, interesting. They have become good friends over the years and actually practiced before the tournament. Badosa has won three of five games, but Gauff won their last meeting 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 in the fourth round in Rome.

The case for Badosa

In the US Open quarterfinals, Badosa had lost a set, led Navarro 5-1 in the second set and was three points from equalizing. Badosa had never been to a major semi-final and that became clear when Navarro – helped by a series of unforced errors – came back to win the match in straight sets.

“I can't play, I can't play,” Badosa told her coach Pol Todo during the game.

That loss stayed with Badosa, who said she was still sad when she arrived in Beijing. After a full month off, she has steadily moved through the field, highlighted by a straight-sets win over No. 2 seed Jessica Pegula.

“It was very painful for me, especially the way I lost,” Badosa said of New York. “For the player that I am, it’s not very common. At the moment it was a very big deal for me and I didn't know how to deal with it.

“I talked to my coach and he said, 'Keep working and it will come.' In my case, you learn through experience. Sometimes it’s painful, but it’s the only way.”

Badosa has some clear advantages over Gauff. Momentum is her friend at the moment. Badosa has won 28 of its last 35 games and is in its third semifinal in five tournaments. And then there's the head-to-head race: 3-2, in their favor. Additionally, Badosa has a 2-1 advantage in hard court matches.

This is Badosa's fifth semi-final at a WTA 1000; She won her only WTA 1000 title three years ago in Indian Wells. She will draw on her experience in New York and try to reach her second final at this level.

“She did so many things at a young age and I really respect her,” Badosa said of Gauff. “It will be a very tactical game. Who plays the important points better, who serves better? These are the games I want to play.”