Emma Navarro picked up a shock first-round defeat in her opening match at the WTA 1000 tournament in Wuhan after world No. 142 Zhang Shuai upset the 14th-seeded American 6-2 2-6 6-3.
Zhang, who entered Wuhan as a main draw wildcard, made a stunning start after winning five consecutive games to open a 5-1 lead. The 36-year-old Chinese missed out on three consecutive set points in the seventh game, but routinely closed out the set on her serve in the following game.
Soon, it went from bad to worse for Navarro after she got broken in the third game of the second set. Down by a set and a break, the American tennis star stormed back into the match by taking the next eight games to take the second set and also open a 3-0 third-set lead.
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At that point, the whole momentum appeared to be on Navarro's side and her comeback win appeared to be a sure thing. But then, out of nowhere, the former world No. 8 collapsed - lost the next six games - and the match.
It was the second meeting between the two. Their first came in Beijing last year, and Zhang also upset the American back then.
In the Wuhan second round, Zhang plays against either Sorana Cirstea or Jelena Ostapenko.
Navarro's struggles continue
Navarro struggled throughout the entire North American hard-court swing as she went 1-4 in her four tournaments played leading up to the US Open. Then, she was bounced by Barbora Krejcikova in the US Open third round.
Last week in Beijing, Navarro won three matches in a row for the first time since Wimbledon - including a round-of-16 win over Iga Swiatek. But since beating Swiatek, the American has picked up two losses, falling short to Jessica Pegula and now losing to Zhang in the Wuhan first round.
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By failing to do well in Wuhan, Navarro is now all but guaranteed to finish the year ranked outside the top-10.
