The post Iga Swiatek suffers 1st career loss to Jasmine Paolini in shocking upset at Wuhan Open appeared first on ClutchPoints.

Iga Swiatek is the No. 2 tennis player in the world and she was expected to dominate her half of the draw in the Wuhan Open and ultimately face top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka in the title round of the tournament. However, the consistent Polish player ran into Italian Jasmine Paolini and she was defeated handily.

Swiatek is the defending Wimbledon champion and she had handled her tournament assignments against Paolini with relative ease in six previous meetings. However, Paolini was having none of it as she registered an overpowering 6-1, 6-2 victory in the Wuhan quarterfinals.

Paolini was overjoyed at having recorded the victory over her rival. “Finally I won a match,” Paolini said. “I’m super happy about my level. Just feels amazing.”

As a result of the victory, Paolini advanced the semifinal round of the tournament.

Paolini is the seventh-seed in the tournament and she will face Coco Gauff in her next match. She has been able to get the best of Gauff in her last three meetings.

Gauff advanced to the semifinals after defeating Laura Siegemund by a 6-3, 6-0 margin.

Sabalenka advances to the semifinal round of Wuhan

While Swiatek was unable to hold up as the favorite in her half of the draw, Sabalenka did not have a similar problem on her side of the draw.

The U.S. Open champion has been on a roll lately, and she earned her 20th consecutive victory by overpowering eighth-seeded Elena Rybakina by a 6-3, 6-3 score. Sabalenka was able to use her strong return to break her opponent’s serve three times during the match.

Sabalenka may be tested more severely in the semifinal round as she will face American star Jessica Pegula, who was pushed quite a bit in her quarterfinal match. She was forced to go three sets before she earned the victory over Katerina Siniakova by a 2-6, 6-0, 6-3 score.

Related: Aryna Sabalenka on track for repeat win after 20th-straight Wuhan Open victory

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