Aryna Sabalenka has started off her 2024 China Open campaign with an emphatic victory. She defeated Thailand’s Mananchaya Sawangkaew in the first match. That was her 13th consecutive win and now she’s ready to hunt down her next prey! Sabalenka will face America’s Ashlyn Krueger in the R32. Looking at Sabalenka’s form this season, beating her on hard courts is surely going to be a mammoth task for the American. Having said that, we know Krueger has all the potential to disrupt all the equations. Can she stop the ‘Tiger’ way before getting closer to her first China Open title?

Aryna Sabalenka vs Ashlyn Krueger: Preview

Aryna Sabalenka has won three titles this season. She started the season by winning the first Grand Slam tournament in 2024 in Melbourne. After that, she recently clinched the Cincinnati Masters title before showcasing a dominating performance in her title-winning run at the US Open. Overall, it has been an exceptional year for the Belarusian superstar. In this tournament, she defeated Sawangkaew by 6-4,6-1 in the previous match. Now it’ll be interesting to see if she can hold on to her winning momentum in the next match.

Her opponent in the next match, Ashlyn Krueger had a pretty ordinary season so far. Her best result was reaching the QF at the WTA 125 Lleida, ES. Apart from that, there haven’t been any noteworthy performances from the 20-year-old in this season. However, she has already won two matches in this competition. Krueger defeated China’s Wang Yafan in the first match by 3-6,6-4,6-2. Then, in the R64, she defeated New Zealand’s Lulu Sun by 6-1,7-6(4). What will be the scoreline in her next match?

Sabalenka vs Krueger: Head-to-Head

Aryna Sabalenka has never faced Ashlyn Krueger in her career as of now. The 2024 season has been great for Krueger, so she’ll be keen to prove herself on the bigger stages. Sabalenka reached the QF of this tournament last year, whereas, Krueger could only make it through to the R64. Who’ll get the edge in this epic clash?

Prediction: Sabalenka to win in straight sets

Aryna Sabalenka looks to be in a demolition mood at the moment! She’s currently ranked 2nd in the list of women’s singles ranking and has a win-loss record of 47-11 this season. Whereas, Ashlyn Krueger (68) has a win-loss record of just 15-20. So, considering all these factors including their performances in this season, we’re keeping the Belarusian ahead in this contest.

Now, if we take a look at their playing styles, Ashlyn Krueger has big serves and powerful groundstrokes in her armory. She may cause a few trouble for Sabalenka in this match with these two weapons. Her fiery forehand shots and her patience in waiting for proper openings before counter-attacking her opponents are something that makes her a very special player on the Tour. Apart from that, her smooth, long, flat, deep shots can be really tricky to handle on this surface.

However, Aryna Sabalenka is not a novice! She has faced many such challenging opponents in her career and handling all these things shouldn’t be too concerning for the Belarusian. If we take a look at her playing style, Sabalenka is more of a baseliner with a powerful, aggressive style of play. She can generate some real power behind her serves and groundstrokes. Her game is more based on taking control of points and hitting winners. Sabalenka has hit 271 aces this season and has committed a total of 174 double faults. Can she win the race with her aces? Looks quite likely at the moment!