Jodie Burrage of Great Britain defeated Rebecca Šramková of Slovakia 6-4, 6-4 in the first round of qualifying at the tournament in Beijing. The event is part of the WTA 1000 category, played on hard courts, with a prize fund of $9.4 million. Burrage was unseeded, while Šramková held the tenth seed. The win allowed the Briton to continue her run in qualifying.
Two identical sets
The match was completed in two sets, both ending with the same 6-4 scoreline in favor of Burrage. The final set count was 2-0. Šramková was unable to force a deciding third set at any point.
According to rank.tennis, Burrage sits at No. 612 in the rankings with 69 points. Despite her lowly ranking, she managed to beat an opponent who had been awarded the tenth seed in qualifying.
According to api.tennis, Burrage now leads their head-to-head 1-0. Both players had faced difficulties in their previous singles tournaments. The Briton lost in the first round at Queen's to Anna Blinkova 1-6, 3-6. Šramková fell in the first round in Singapore to Maya Chwalińska 4-6, 2-6, and was beaten in the second round in Cincinnati by Hanne Vandewinkel in three sets 4-6, 6-3, 3-6.