Preview of Day 12: Gauff and Swiatek for a fierce clash, Rybakina meets Samsonova

On Saturday, the women’s singles and doubles semifinals of the 2023 China Open will take place at Diamond Court.

The first semifinal will see a showdown between four-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek and the newly crowned US Open champion Coco Gauff.

These two players have frequently met on important occasions such as Grand Slam finals over the past two years. While Swiatek has a commanding lead with 7 wins and 1 loss in their head-to-head record, Gauff defeated Swiatek in their most recent encounter at Cincinnati this year.

It was after that victory that Gauff began her winning streak, clinching her first-ever WTA 1000 tournament title and subsequently winning her first Grand Slam at the US Open.

Now, having entered the China Open semifinals, Gauff has enjoyed an impressive 16-match winning streak this season, the longest on the Hologic WTA Tour this year.

Will Swiatek make a comeback to the pinnacle through this match, or will Gauff continue her incredible winning streak? It’s an exciting battle worth watching!

In the other women’s singles semifinal, Elena Rybakina will compete with Liudmila Samsonova for a spot in the final.

Rybakina secured her spot in the semifinals by triumphing over newly crowned world No.1 Sabalenka in a thrilling match. This victory marks her fourth career win against the world No.1 player as well as her fifth entry into the WTA 1000 semifinals this year.

Samsonova, the only non-Grand Slam champion among the semifinalists, can be considered the biggest dark horse of this year’s China Open. She has defeated both Petra Kvitova and Jelena Ostapenko, two Grand Slam champions, on her way to the semifinals.

Although Rybakina boasts a higher ranking than Samsonova, the latter has a perfect record of three wins in their previous encounters, including a victory in the semifinals of this year’s WTA 1000 tournament in Montreal.

So, both mentally and in terms of playing style, Samsonova has no fear of Rybakina. This match may prove to be more suspenseful than it appears. Will Rybakina make it to her fourth WTA 1000 final of the year, turning the women’s singles final into a clash of Grand Slam champions? Or will Samsonova continue her journey as the dark horse? Let’s witness the suspense unfold together today.

In addition, there will be two women’s doubles semifinal matches featuring non-seeded pairs. The four remaining pairs, all non-seeded combinations, will battle it out for a place in the final.