Home hero Zheng Qinwen's return to action ended with heartache in Beijing as she became one of five players to retire with injuries Monday at the China Open, but Daniil Medvedev beat rival Alexander Zverev in straight sets to reach the semifinals.
Zheng's first tournament since Wimbledon was cut short in the third set against the Czech Republic's Linda Noskova, who reached the last 16 having been 3-0 up in the decider.
China's Olympic champion Zheng said afterwards that her return from a recent elbow surgery had been too soon.
"Now I know to compete third set, the amount of hitting the balls is too much for me," she said.
Poland's Iga Swiatek, the top seed, advanced, having won the first set 6-0 when Camila Osorio of Colombia called it quits.
"I'm sorry for Camila because she's always giving her 100 per cent," six-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek said.
"It's always pretty sad to see that because we want to just compete. She wasn't able to."
The 24-year-old Swiatek had no injury trouble but said she might skip tournaments in future to protect her health.
The number of matches in the tennis calendar has been a major talking point in recent years, with players such as Novak Djokovic cutting back the number of tournaments they compete in as they near the end of their careers.
'PRETTY CRAZY'
Starting last year, the Women's Tennis Association made it mandatory for top players to participate in all four Grand Slams, 10 WTA 1000 events – which includes Beijing – and six 500-level tournaments.
Swiatek called the requirements "pretty crazy", adding that "people are more fatigued" especially in the second half of the season.
"I think we have to be smart about it, not really unfortunately, care about the rules and just think what's healthy for us," she said.
Underlining the point, Swiatek next plays Emma Navarro after the American's opponent Lois Boisson of France was unable to finish their last-32 encounter.
In one match that was completed, American Jessica Pegula beat Britain's Emma Raducanu 3-6, 7-6 (11/9), 6-0 and will next face Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk.
Injury also struck in the men's quarterfinals as Jakub Mensik and Lorenzo Musetti both retired from their matches.
MEDVEDEV WINS AGAIN
But eighth seed Medvedev survived unscathed as he beat second-seeded Zverev 6-3, 6-3 in a 21st Tour meeting.
"I was playing great, I was serving great. Happy with the win," the Russian said afterwards.
He next plays teenager Learner Tien of the United States, who moved into the semifinals when Italy's Musetti retired due to leg pain in the deciding third set.
"He can play some great tennis," 29-year-old Medvedev said of Tien. The 19-year-old beat him in a marathon five sets at the Australian Open.
"I'm hoping to get my revenge tomorrow."
Medvedev broke early to win the first set without much trouble and broke again to down Zverev on the first match point.
The Russian has not lost to his German rival since their 2023 Beijing semifinal, winning that in two sets.
Top seed Jannik Sinner, meanwhile, beat the world no. 57 Hungarian Fabian Marozsan 6-1, 7-5 in one hour and 19 minutes and next plays third seed Alex de Minaur.
"Generally I'm very happy with today's performance," said the Italian world No 2, who boasts a 10-0 record against Australia's De Minaur.
Sinner won the first set with ease, but Marozsan made it more difficult in the second, breaking for a 5-4 lead.
That spurred Sinner into action, winning the next three games with just one dropped point to power into the last four.