Jessica Pegula was twice broken while serving for the match in the third set but recovered to edge Hailey Baptiste in a tight tiebreaker Wednesday and advance at the Wuhan Open.
Sixth-seeded Pegula beat her fellow American 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (6) on her seventh match point to reach the third round.
Pegula, who lost in the China Open semifinals last week, will next play ninth-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova, who beat American Ann Li 7-6 (5), 6-2.
No. 3 Coco Gauff, coming off a semifinal loss to eventual champion Amanda Anisimova at the China Open, breezed into the next round with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Moyuka Uchijima in 51 minutes.
No. 16 Liudmila Samsonova rallied to beat 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin 3-6, 6-3, 6-1, and qualifier Kateřina Siniaková beat Maya Joint 6-3, 6-1.
In the third round, Samsonova will face US Open champion Aryna Sabalenka, who defeated Rebecca Sramkova 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.
The top-ranked Sabalenka has had an amazing run in Wuhan. Her record is 18-0 while winning titles in 2018, 2019 and 2024. She took a Greek holiday after her second consecutive win at Flushing Meadows and withdrew from last week’s China Open, another WTA 1000-level event.
“I knew after that little break … it will be not that easy to get back in my rhythm. I’m really glad that in the second set I found my game and stepped in, and I think I played really great,” Sabalenka said. “I’m super happy to be back. I’ve won a lot of tournaments in China. It feels like home in this stadium, and I really hope I can go all the way.”
Sabalenka broke her 68th-ranked opponent in the opening game of the final set and converted her second match point to win in almost two hours.
Karolina Muchova became the latest player to succumb to the heat and humidity, withdrawing from her match while trailing Magdalena Frech 7-6 (1), 4-1.
The Associated Press and PA contributed to this report.
