World No. 2 <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/other-sports/photo/cincinnati-open-jannik-sinner-and-aryna-sabalenka-win-titles-101843/1" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Aryna Sabalenka</a> said on Wednesday she believes her rivalry with top-ranked Iga Swiatek is &ldquo;much-needed&rdquo; in women&rsquo;s tennis.&nbsp;
The Belarusian advanced to the Wuhan Open third round by beating Katerina Siniakova 6-4, 6-4, her 50th victory of the season.&nbsp;
Swiatek is absent from the field in Wuhan and withdrew from the China swing after splitting with her coach of three years Tomasz Wiktorowski.&nbsp;
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<img title="Iga Swiatek" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2024/oct/Sabalenk-rten-oct-b_e.jpg" alt="Iga Swiatek" width="1280" height="720" />Iga Swiatek
Sabalenka has a chance to close the gap on the Polish World No. 1 with a strong run in Wuhan, with the battle for the top spot likely to come down to the wire at the season-ending championships in Riyadh next month.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Having this rivalry with Iga is something big for tennis and something much-needed, I would say, in women&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/other-sports/article/shanghai-masters-djokovic-remains-on-course-for-100th-tour-level-title-with-win-over-cobolli-23407987" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">tennis</a>,&rdquo; said Sabalenka, who will face Yulia Putintseva in the last 16.&nbsp;
&ldquo;To keep this competition going would be really good for tennis,&rdquo; she said. Sabalenka, 26, spent eight weeks at the summit of the rankings last season and says reclaiming the World No. 1 spot is one of her biggest goals. &ldquo;I hope she&rsquo;ll figure out the coach situation and she&rsquo;ll be back in the finals in her best shape,&rdquo; she said.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Hopefully, we can play against each other there in... a fight for World No. 1,&rdquo; she added. Coco Gauff followed up her China Open title in Beijing on Sunday with a smooth 6-1, 6-2 win over Viktoriya Tomova. Gauff has a seven-match winning streak and faces 13th seed Marta Kostyuk in the last 16. Kostyuk received a walkover after her opponent Amanda Anisimova withdrew with a left hip injury. &ldquo;Both mentally and physically I&rsquo;m a little tired, if I&rsquo;m being honest,&rdquo; said Gauff.&nbsp;
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World No. 2 Sabalenka says her duel with top-ranked Swiatek is much-needed for women’s game

‘My rivalry with Iga is good for our sport’

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‘My rivalry with Iga is good for our sport’

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