The world No. 71 and No. 40 met on Wuhan’s hard courts, where $4.1 million in prize money is on offer. According to api.tennis, Volynets has 919 points in the rank.tennis rankings, while Birrell has 1280. The match lasted three sets, two of which were decided by tiebreaks.
Two tiebreaks and a close finish
Birrell won the first set, with Volynets scoring just one point in the tiebreak. The second set also went to a tiebreak, but this time it went the American’s way, as the Australian managed three points. The score was level at 1-1, and the third set decided the match. Volynets won it 6-3.
The match, in which the players exchanged tiebreak wins, therefore ended comfortably for the American. The two earlier tiebreaks could not determine the winner, but she won the deciding set by a margin of three games.