Ever since she emerged victorious in Nottingham back in June, McCartney Kessler has been in solid form. Although she hasn’t won another title after that grass court trophy, the American rising star has impressed with her fighting spirit on the court. It is evident from her ongoing campaign in Beijing where she entered the fourth round after three-straight wins. Unfortunately, her journey has now hit an unexpected snag as she tries to overcome a formidable German rival for a place in the last eight.

During her fourth-round battle against Eva Lys, Kessler could be seen visibly struggling on the court. Although she won the first set with ease, the next one brought on a discomfort in her stomach/abdominal area. As a result, Kessler had to avail a MTO (medical time out) when Lys was dominating to level the fight and push the result into a decider. She could be seen explaining to a medical personnel while clutching her abdomen.

After a few minutes when the play resumed, the nightmare turned real for Kessler as Lys managed to pull off a comeback. The German and World No.66, who beat Elena Rybakina in her last encounter, showed nerves of steel while sealing the second set before dominating the decider as well.

Lys eventually beat Kessler with a score line of 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 after two hours and nine minutes. With that, Lys has also entered her maiden WTA 1000 quarterfinal.

In her last four campaigns on the tour, Lys has managed to reach the QF stage for the second time. Last month, the German succeeded in accomplishing a similar result at Tennis In the Land in Cleveland. However, that was a WTA 250 event. But this week, she will look to move one step further to leave a lasting impact in Beijing.

Eva Lys achieves rare distinction after besting McCartney Kessler at China Open

Earlier this season, Eva Lys stunned everyone with her form down under. Despite being a Lucky Loser, she managed to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open. It was the first time a Lucky Loser had achieved such a feat in the tournament history.

Now, at the China Open, Lys is proving her mettle with each match. As if earning her maiden top 10 win against Rybakina wasn’t enough, she doubled the happiness on Tuesday with a win against McCartney Kessler. Her post-match reaction was enough to describe the feelings. “I’m trying to hold back my tears. It was so fun playing in front of you guys.. I didn’t expect to have a lot of fans in China.”

Acknowledging the constant support from the Chinese crowd, she added, “I really appreciate that. 🥹 ” while underlining that “it means so much to be in my 1st WTA 1000 QF” Her latest victory against Kessler has given Lys a 2-1 lead in the H2H tally. She has also became just the third player, since 2015, to make it to her maiden quarterfinal of a 1000-level tournament at the China Open. Before her, Yaroslava Shvedova and Yuliia Starodubtseva achieved this feat in 2016 and 2024 respectively, according to OptaAce.

Next up, Lys will be up against a strong rival in the quarterfinal stage. To be precise, she is going to face none other than two-time slam winner and World No.3 Coco Gauff. So how does it feel on facing the American WTA icon?

Lys seemed confident of herself while admitting, “I mean this is the reason I play tennis. I am happy to have the best opponents and I am happy to see where am I against them.” It will be their first meeting in a WTA event. “I am really excited for the match, I am excited I finally made it to the Center Court so I really like this court but Center will be a nice experience.”