WTA Tour: China's Zheng Qinwen, Wang Xinyu reach Wuhan Open last eight

China`s Zheng Qinwen hits a return to Canada’s Leylah Fernandez during their women’s singles match at the Wuhan Open tennis tournament in Wuhan, China`s Hubei province. Pic/AFP

Chinese tennis star Zheng Qinwen came from behind to beat U.S. Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez of Canada 5-7, 6-3, 6-0, while Wang Xinyu defeated second-seeded Jessica Pegula in straight sets in the third round of the Wuhan Open here on Thursday. In other matches, the top seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus downed Yulia Putintseva 1-6, 6-4, 6-0 while fourth-seeded Coco Gauff of the United States cruised past Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk 6-4, 6-1.

In a hard-fought match, China's Zheng overcame Fernandez in three sets to advance to the quarterfinals as well, marking her first win against Fernandez in their third meeting.

The opening set saw both players engaged in a back-and-forth battle. The two held their serves through the first four games until Zheng secured the first break in the fifth game, reports Xinhua.

Fernandez, however, broke back immediately to level the score. As the set progressed to 5-5, Fernandez held her serve once again and put pressure on Zheng in the 12th game. Despite Zheng's efforts to fight back from 0-30 down, a return went long, and Fernandez took the first set 7-5.

The second set continued to be tightly contested. Fernandez held serve to start, but Zheng had to dig deep in her opening service game, saving four break points before finally holding it. In the third game, Zheng gained momentum, breaking Fernandez's serve to take the lead. Both players then held serve, bringing the score to 4-3. Zheng took the opportunity to break Fernandez again and hold serve to close the set 6-3, levelling the match.

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In the deciding set, Fernandez's energy visibly waned, and her returns began to lose their potency. Zheng took full advantage, dominating the third set with a flawless performance, winning all six games to seal the victory 6-0.

Reflecting on her win, Zheng expressed her satisfaction with finally defeating Fernandez. "It was never easy to play against her because her style is very different from other players - she attacks from the baseline. This is my first time defeating her, and I'm really happy to do it here in Wuhan," Zheng said.

According to the WTA, Zheng has hit 350 aces this season, the most by any female player in 2024, which makes it possible for Zheng to claim the "Ace Queen" title for the year. When asked about this achievement, Zheng said with a smile, "I didn't realize my serve was that strong. But of course, there are always expectations, especially when my serve helps me through tough matches. Meanwhile, I also know that I need to keep improving," Zheng added.

Zheng will next face Italy's Jasmine Paolini, the third seed of the tournament, who advanced to the quarterfinals after a straight-set victory over Russia's Erika Andreeva.

In the other match, China's Olympic mixed doubles silver medallist Wang defeated Pegula 6-3, 7-5, securing her first-ever victory against a world top-three player and advancing to the quarterfinals of a WTA 1000 event for the first time in her career.

Wang earned ten break points and converted four of them. Her aggressive baseline play and ability to capitalize on Pegula's second serve proved crucial in both sets.

It was the second encounter for Pegula and Wang, who had overturned the American star 2-1 in this year's Wimbledon Open.

"Last time at Wimbledon, I used a lot of interceptions and slices, which worked well on the grass. But I knew that strategy wouldn't be as effective on the hard court today," Wang said. "I knew she wouldn't be easy to deal with, and that I had to bring my best game to have a chance of beating her. I'm really happy with my performance today and satisfied with how I played."

Wang's next opponent will be Ekaterina Alexandrova. The two have met twice before, with each player winning once.

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