At Roland-Garros in Paris, 22-year-old Zheng Qinwen of China continued her breakout run at the French Open by defeating Canada\u0019s qualifier Victoria Mboko 6-3, 6-4 to advance to the women\u0019s singles round of 16\u0019the deepest Grand Slam run of her career so far, and all without dropping a set.
After breaking in the fourth game of the first set, Zheng weathered a brief comeback from the 18-year-old Mboko and seized control with a clutch break in game six. She closed out the set with an ace. In the second set, both players traded love-service breaks before Zheng\u0019s decisive break in game five, then fended off two game points in the 10th to seal victory.
"I was born in a really hot place in the Chinese mainland called Wuhan, so I handled the weather well," Zheng told reporters after the match. "Last year at the Olympic Games it was even hotter, so I actually like these conditions. Thanks to the crowd\u0019they endured the sun with me today."
Zheng also praised her opponent: "Victoria played really well, and we pushed each other to bring out our best. It wasn\u0019t easy, and there were some amazing rallies."
Up next for the eighth seed is 19th-seeded Liudmila Samsonova of Russia, setting up a clash of rising powers on clay. If Zheng continues her run, she will join a growing wave of young talent making its mark on the Grand Slams this season.
In other action, world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus cruised past Serbia\u0019s Olga Danilovic 6-2, 6-3 to reach the last 16, while defending champion Iga Swiatek of Poland extended her Roland-Garros win streak to 23 matches by downing Romania\u0019s Jaqueline Cristian 6-2, 7-5.
Reference(s):
Zheng Qinwen advances to French Open round of 16, matching career best
cgtn.com
