Wang Xinyu stuns Olympic silver medalist 2-1, reaches Cincinnati round of 32 for first time, next to face world No. 1

The August 17 encounter saw world No. 36 Wang Xinyu rally from a set down to defeat Croatian star Donna Vekic (ranked 34th), who was the silver medalist at the Paris Olympics, by a scoreline of 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 in the second round of the WTA1000 Cincinnati event. This result propels Wang into the round of 32 for the first time in her career.

Previously, the 24-year-old Wang had lost both of her two prior meetings with Vekic. In this rematch, Wang was broken first in the eighth game of the opening set and eventually fell 3-6.

Fortunately, Wang regained her composure thereafter. Despite being broken early in the second set, she reeled off six consecutive games, delivering a "hidden bagel" (a streak of six straight games) to claim the set 6-1 and level the match.

In the deciding set, Wang secured a critical break in the ninth game and closed out the set 6-4, completing a 2-1 comeback victory over Vekic.

This is Wang's first career win over Vekic, improving their head-to-head record to 1-2. It also marks Wang's first time this season to achieve two consecutive wins at a WTA1000 event.

With her advancement to the third round, Wang earned 65 ranking points and $47,375, moving her live ranking to No. 40. In the next round, she will face the winner of the match between world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and Gibson.