Alcaraz reaches China Open quarterfinals

BEIJING -- Men's top seed Carlos Alcaraz cruised into the quarterfinals of the China Open with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Italy's Lorenzo Musetti here on Sunday.

The Spaniard broke Musetti's serve four times, twice in each set, to make a short work of the second-round tie.

Musetti created three break points throughout the match, but converted none.

Alcaraz will now face seventh seed Casper Ruud of Norway, who beat Argentina's Tomas Martin Etcheverry 1-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7).

In the women's first round, world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus eased past Sofia Kenin of the United States 6-1, 6-2.

The 25-year-old Belarusian, who won a total of 61 points to Kenin's 28, broke twice in each set to finish the lopsided match in 66 minutes.

Sabalenka said her impressive serve made her job easier against the 2020 Australian Open champion.

"I didn't expect to play that good on my serve. In practice it didn't work that well," she said.

"I think she [Kenin] didn't even expect that great serving game, so I think that was the key of today's match," she added.

Sabalenka will next face the winner between two qualifiers, Magdalena Frech of Poland and Britain's Katie Boulter.