Dayana Yastremska saved five match points to defeat her close friend Katie Volynets 7-5, 1-6, 7-6 (7) in a two-hour, forty-four-minute thriller at the Guangzhou tournament, mirroring her qualifying escape earlier in the week.
A Familiar Script in Guangzhou
“It was a thriller. It was a crazy match today,” Dayana Yastremska told reporters after securing the victory. The Ukrainian player found herself in an eerily similar position to her first-round qualifying match, where she also erased five match points before closing out the contest.
Dayana Yastremska ML (+125) ✅💰————————————————As expected, Katie Volynets stood ZERO chance to compete in this tennis match and gets blown off the court! If your favorite capper gave you Volynets, BLOCK EM! They have no idea what they’re doing! https://t.co/h0hM3PXLm1
Facing No. 8 seed and close friend Katie Volynets, Yastremska captured a hard-fought opening set before encountering a steep dip in form. Volynets capitalized on the momentum shift, dominating the second set 6-1 and storming to a commanding 5-2 lead in the decider.
“The second set wasn’t really great, but it happens,” Yastremska reflected. “You cannot always be on the same level — I’m just happy I could go through.”
The Dramatic Third-Set Escape
With Volynets serving for the match at 5-2 in the third set, the contest turned into a dramatic survival test. Yastremska saved her first match point in that game before breaking serve to narrow the gap to 5-3.
She held serve to make it 5-4, then erased three more match points during a grueling 20-point game where the fourth elimination point vanished on a forehand return winner. In the deciding tiebreak, Yastremska built a 4-1 lead and held two match points at 6-4 before finally converting her fourth opportunity when Volynets sent a final forehand sailing long.
| Match Metric | Dayana Yastremska | Katie Volynets |
|---|---|---|
| Winners | 37 | 8 |
| Unforced Errors | 76 | 19 |
The statistical profile of the match highlighted the contrasting styles of the two competitors. Yastremska finished with 37 winners against 76 unforced errors, while Volynets maintained a much cleaner sheet with eight winners and 19 unforced errors.
Looking Ahead to the Next Round
Next up for Yastremska is an unfamiliar challenge against Shi Han, who advanced past Alevtina Ibragimova in straight sets during her Guangzhou opener.
“I don’t know her, really. I never saw her play,” Yastremska said regarding her upcoming opponent. “So I’m going to double check and I will [be] well prepared. I’m sure she’s very good and I think it will be the first time that we’ve played. I think it’s going to be a great match.”
