Krueger to bring big serve and self-belief against top seed Sabalenka

She’s 20 years old, already has a Hologic WTA Tour title in her pocket and a burgeoning, not-so-quiet confidence.
Ashlyn Krueger is into the third round of the China Open — all she has to do to reach the fourth is beat No.1 seed Aryna Sabalenka (1 p.m. in Beijing).
“I have no pressure going in,” Krueger said Saturday in an interview with wtatennis.com. “I’m just going to play my game, play the best that I can, enjoy it and have fun.
“She’s in very good form — but I’m also in good form.”
Well, then … Krueger’s not wrong.In her 6-1, 7-6(4) second-round win over No.29 seed Lulu Sun, the 6-foot-1 American served lights out. She won 29 of 36 first-serve points (81 percent) and perhaps more impressively, 16 of 23 second-serve points (70 percent). That works out to a smoking 45-for-59 (76 percent).
It’s the product of a season-long focus on her most dangerous weapon.
“There were a couple of things mechanically that I had to work…