WHAT HAPPENED: Yulia Putintseva wasn’t hungry, she was downright starved for a win over Wang Xinyu. In the three times the pair have met, Putintseva hadn’t been able to top the Chinese player.
But Putintseva finally dined on the delicious dish of victory on Thursday when the world No. 32 defeated Wang, 6-1, 7-6(4), in the pair’s second-round match at the 2024 US Open.
With her hunger to win, Putintseva, the world No. 32, pulled out all the weapons in her arsenal and put on a wily show for the spectators in the Grandstand.
Putintseva came out hot in the first set, and captured the first break of the match, giving her the confidence to keep pushing. The Kazakhstani’s tactic was pressure. She dished Wang unexpected dropshots that the world No. 40 couldn’t overcome, and was aggressive on Wang’s serves to pummel the ball past Wang.
In the fourth break point of the fifth game, Putintseva fired a deadly backhand slice to Wang, who approached the shot but struck it into the net, giving Putintseva the double-break lead and put her into the driver’s seat for the rest of the set.
But when there’s a will, there’s a Wang. With a steadier game, Wang managed to tie up at 3-all in the second, and started to turn the touch on, and used the slices, drops and the craftiness that Putintseva served her in the first.
As Wang’s game buttoned up, Putintseva’s game seemed to spiral. Her verbal outbursts increased, and she even had a mid-game sock change, trying to overcome a blister on her big toe.
Wang forced Putintseva into a dramatic second-set tiebreak. At 6-all, Putintseva finally prevailed with a forehand winner.
“I feel great, it’s better to win the first time than to lose the first time, that’s for sure,” Putintseva said in her on-court interview.
Putintseva also noted how her pugnacious play paid off against Wang.
“I think I finally had the right tactic, I was trying to be everywhere and put some pressure on her.”
WHAT IT MEANS: Putintseva has only a short time to celebrate—up next for the 29-year-old will be one of two daunting opponents.
The first could be 2016 US Open runner-up Karolina Pliskova. The towering Czech is a former world No. 1 armed with a devastating serve and forehand to blast past the player on the other side of the net.
Putinseva’s other potential opponent is the joyful Jasmine Paolini, who despite her geniality, is having a banner year for her career—especially at majors. Before this year, Paolini hadn’t even reached the third round of a major. This year alone, she reached the final at both Roland-Garros and Wimbledon.
MATCH POINT: Putineva was all about the net push to rattle Wang, and won an astounding 92% of net points to Wang’s 53%.
