Sabalenka wins opener to launch Beijing title bid

BEIJING, SEPT 28: A frustrated Aryna Sabalenka began her China Open title charge with a 6-4, 6-1 win over tricky Thai qualifier Mananchaya Sawangkaew on Saturday. 
The top seed and world number two will face the 29th-seeded New Zealander Lulu Sun or Ashlyn Krueger of the United States in the third round in Beijing.
Fresh from winning the US Open, the Belarusian made hard work of an opponent ranked 187 in the world and playing the biggest match of her young career.
The 22-year-old Mananchaya may have been inexperienced at this level but the athletic Thai refused to give up seemingly lost causes. Mananchaya struggled though on serve and three-time major champion Sabalenka broke for a 4-2 first-set lead.
The Thai refused to be overwhelmed by Sabalenka's far greater power and she broke back immediately, to roars of approval from the Beijing crowd.    —AFP