Barty rallies against Garcia to reach 3rd round in Wuhan

Top-ranked Ash Barty came from a set down to beat Caroline Garcia of France 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 Tuesday in the second round of the Wuhan Open.

Garcia beat Barty in the 2017 Wuhan final, but the Australian No. 1 managed to cut down on her mistakes after making 19 unforced errors in the first set.

Ashleigh Barty of Australia in action during her second-round match at the 2019 Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open Premier 5 tennis tournament against Caroline Garcia of France on September 24, 2019 in Wuhan, China. [Photo: IC]

"I had to make some small adjustments in the second set," said Barty, who will next face Sofia Kenin of the United States. "It was just about me being a little bit smarter with my serving and trying to be in control in those first couple of points."

Second-seeded Karolina Pliskova followed up her win in Zhengzhou last week by coming from a break down in both sets to beat American teenager Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 6-3.

Wimbledon champion Simona Halep and third-ranked Elina Svitolina also advanced.

Halep beat Barbora Strycova 6-3, 6-2 to improve her unbeaten record against the Czech player to 6-0. Svitolina ousted two-time Grand Slam champion Garbine Muguruza 7-5, 6-2.

Svitolina showed no sign of the knee problem that forced to retire from a match during last week's tournament in Guangzhou and came from a break down in the first set to keep alive her hopes of qualifying for the WTA Finals in Shenzhen.

Also Tuesday, No. 10-seeded Sloane Stephens beat China's Wang Yafan 6-2, 3-6, 6-1.