BEIJING, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) — Zheng Qinwen of China battled through a three-set contest to reach the women’s quarterfinals of the China Open on Wednesday, while former champion Coco Gauff was knocked out.
2024 Olympic champion Zheng overcame qualifier Alina Charaeva 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 in two hours and 11 minutes, booking her place in the last eight of the Beijing WTA 1000 event for the second time in four appearances.
Zheng made a flying start against Charaeva, taking the opening set 6-1. Charaeva, who had already produced one of the tournament’s biggest upsets by eliminating world No. 1 Elena Rybakina, responded strongly in the second set to level the match.
The deciding set was tighter, but Zheng held firm at the crucial moments to close out the victory and end Charaeva’s unexpected run in Beijing.
The win also served as an early birthday present for Zheng, who turns 24 on Thursday. “I’m really grateful to win. There have been ups and downs during the match, honestly,” Zheng said. “But I’m just happy to be on court and get the win because everybody knows it’s my last day at 23 years old. I got some pressure to handle.”
“I was putting a lot of pressure on myself. I could feel my unforced errors were increasing, especially in the second set. In the first set I was playing really good. I was getting more anxious that I wasn’t able to maintain that consistency. This is something I really need to work on,” she added.
Zheng will next face sixth seed Elina Svitolina, who beat Ann Li 6-2, 6-3.
Third-seeded American Gauff, the 2024 champion who had reached at least the semifinals in each of her previous three Beijing appearances, was beaten by 13th seed Elise Mertens 6-3, 6-3 in 78 minutes. It was Mertens’ first victory over Gauff in six meetings.
Mertens will next face Iga Swiatek, who advanced comfortably with a 6-1, 6-3 win over American teenager Iva Jovic.
