Wuhan Open: Chinese star Wang Qiang comprehensively beats Monica Puig in straight sets to reach semi-finals

Wuhan: Rising star Wang Qiang demolished Olympic champion Monica Puig 6-3, 6-1 at the Wuhan Open in China on Thursday, cruising into the semi-finals to the delight of the home crowd. [caption id=“attachment_5276801” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Chinese tennis playter Wang Qiang stormed into the finals of the Wuhan open, beating Monica Puig 6-3, 6-1. AFP[/caption] The impressive victory was the 14th on the trot for Wang, who has said she wants to follow the footsteps of China’s two-time Grand Slam winner Li Na. With the fans firmly behind her, Wang made a breathless start to the match, putting her Puerto Rican challenger on the back foot. Puig, who came into the quarters with an upset win over world number two Caroline Wozniacki on Wednesday, switched gears and tried a more aggressive approach, but was unable to faze the local favourite. Wang was even more dominant in the second set and wrapped up the match in just over an hour, having already made history by becoming the first Chinese player to reach the quarter-finals of the Wuhan Open, a WTA Premier 5 tournament. “Today’s win makes me very, very happy,” Wang said. “This is the first time I’ve reached… (these stages) of a Premier 5 tournament.” Wang’s impressive run at Wuhan includes a shock victory in the second round over world number seven Karolina Pliskova. The 26-year-old Tianjin native won her first her first WTA Tour 250 title at the Jiangxi Open in July, and clinched the Guangzhou Open last week. She also grabbed headlines at the French Open with her straight-sets demolition of Venus Williams.