Chinese wildcard Yuan Yue delivered a birthday spectacle at the China Open on Thursday, defeating Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva 6-3, 6-3 in a first-round women's singles match. The victory marked a triumphant end to her four-match losing streak and showcased her resilience on Beijing's hard courts.
Yuan demonstrated tactical precision from the outset, saving two break points in the second game before securing decisive breaks in the fifth and ninth games of the first set. The Beijing crowd erupted as she closed the set with a cross-court winner.
The second set saw Yuan overcome a 40-0 deficit in the fifth game, capitalizing on Putintseva's mounting unforced errors. A crucial break in the eighth game paved the way for her birthday victory, setting up a high-stakes second-round clash with world No.1 Iga Świątek of Poland.
