Chinese qualifier Shi Han, world No. 217, beat world No. 19 Alex Eala 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the first round of the WTA 1000 Wuhan Open on Monday evening, Philippine time.
The match lasted 2 hours, 27 minutes, Philstar reports.
From 4-all, Eala won the next two games, including a 12-minute ninth game, to take the opening set. She led 3-2 in the second. Then Shi won seven straight games, taking the set and a 3-0 lead in the third, per GMA News. Back-to-back aces put Shi up 5-2, and she served it out after Eala held for 3-5.
Shi hit four aces to Eala's none and 31 winners to 20. Eala made 37 unforced errors to Shi's 33, Philstar reports.
It was Shi's first win over a Top 20 player, the WTA noted in a post embedded by GMA News.
Wuhan was Eala's first event since the Asian Games, where she lost in the semifinals to China's Wang Xiyu. It is her second straight early exit on tour, after a round-of-16 loss to Tatiana Prozorova in Singapore.
Shi next faces Canada's Leylah Fernandez, who beat Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 earlier Monday.
Follow Rally's Alex Eala hub for verified results and schedule updates.
