Zheng, Zverev advance at China Open

Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen played in front of rowdy fans at her home tournament on Saturday before opponent Anna Kalinskaya retired with injury to give the Chinese star player a 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 3-0 victory. A strong breeze and a noisy crowd made for tense rallies on a chilly centre court in Beijing, with the umpire stepping in to warn people to stop moving around in the stands during play. During a tight first-set tie-break, Zheng - a beloved figure in the nation - twice was heard telling spectators to "stop shouting" as she stepped up to serve. "I thought the first set in particular was really difficult," Zheng told the crowd in an on-court interview after the two-hour-and-22-minute match. "Indeed, seeing some movement in the audience, my emotions were not very stable," the 23-year-old added. But she declared: "It's my problem, it's my problem," and vowed to adjust. Chants for Zheng rang through the wind-rattled stadium before most points, with fans occasionally yelling at each other to quieten down. After levelling in the second set, the world number 54 was handed a lifeline when Russia's Kalinskaya retired three games down in the third due to injury. Zheng next faces Czech player Marie Bouzkova in the third round. In the men's draw, big-serving Alexander Zverev trounced home hopeful Shang Juncheng 6-0, 6-3 to set up a quarter-final clash with Novak Djokovic in Beijing. The German top seed needed just 55 minutes to brush aside the Chinese wildcard, ranked 250th, firing nine aces along the way. "Happy with the win," the world's second-ranked player said, adding that his 21-year-old opponent had been "dangerous" and had "nothing to lose". "Looking forward to the next couple of weeks," he said ahead of his tie with Djokovic - who has never lost a match in Beijing - on Sunday. (AFP) Edited by Azam Khan

2026-10-03 23:03:00