Fritz reaches the semi-finals in Shanghai and Sabalenka meets Gauff in Wuhan

SHANGHAI (AP) — Taylor Fritz reached his fifth Masters semifinal at the Shanghai Masters on Friday with a resounding 6-3, 6-4 victory over David Goffin of Belgium.

The 26-year-old American was in control throughout the 82-minute encounter, converting three of his seven break points to set up a duel against four-time champion Novak Djokovic or Jakub Mensik, who play later on Friday.

“I feel like sometimes it takes a few games to find my routines, figure out what feels good and what works for me,” Fritz said. “Once I got through the first two rounds, I felt very locked in.

In the other semifinal on Saturday, leader Jannik Sinner will face Tomas Machac, who beat second-place Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals.

Wuhan open

Second seed Aryna Sabalenka produced a masterclass by defeating Magdalena Frech of Poland 6-2, 6-2 and maintaining her unbeaten record at the Wuhan Open.

The Belarusian scored 42 winning goals in 16 games and secured her last win in 1 hour and 23 minutes. She reached her eighth semi-final of the year, where she met fourth-placed Coco Gauff.

Sabalenka, the US Open champion, is now 15-0 in Wuhan after winning the title in her first appearance in 2018 and defending her crown in 2019 before the tournament took a five-year break from the calendar.

Earlier on Friday, Gauff's impressive Asian momentum showed no signs of stopping as she defeated Poland's Magda Linette 6-0, 6-4 to secure her 50th win of the season.

It was also the 20-year-old American's ninth consecutive victory in China, a streak that includes victory at the China Open last week and which was never in doubt as Gauff defeated the 45th-ranked Linette four times broke through and scored 19 wins to Linette's 13.

“I’m really happy with the way I’m playing,” said Gauff. “Obviously a smooth first set. With the score at 5-3 in the second game, I might have had a chance to finish the game, but I was happy that I was able to finish it off with my serve.”

It was a disappointing end to an otherwise impressive week for 32-year-old Linette, who reached her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal.

China's 51st-ranked Wang

Wang will face either his compatriot and Paris Olympics gold medalist Zheng Qinwen or sixth-seeded Jasmine Paolini, who play later on Friday.

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