Lulu Sun stuns top seed yet again with victory in Guangzhou

Lulu Sun has done it again. 

For the fourth tournament in a row, the 24-year-old Kiwi has knocked out the No 1 seed at a tournament, this time defeating world No 40 Jessica Bouzas Maneiro from Spain, 7-6(3) 7-6(2), in Guangzhou, China.

The other wins against No 1 seeds over the past month were world No 58 Alexandra Eala in Jingshan, Iva Jovic (37) in Suzhou and Anastasia Zakharova (80) in Jinan.

Those other wins were in WTA 125 tournaments, while this was a 250 level event, with more prize money and ranking points up for grabs.

It was a tight battle against Bouzas Maneiro, but once again Sun showed her gritty side. She went down a break in the first set, and Bouzas Maneiro served for it at 5-4. 

However, Sun broke back at the crucial moment and eventually took the set into a tiebreak, which she won comfortably.

There was a break of serve for both players in the second set, before once again Sun raised her level in the tiebreak.

By winning this match, Sun has picked up another 30 ranking points, which would lift her up to around 105 in the world rankings when they’re next updated and take her close to having direct acceptance for January’s Australian Open.

In the second round in Guangzhou, Sun will play against Wang Yafan from China, who is ranked 331 in the world and was given a wildcard to make it into the main draw.