China stars Zheng Saisai, Zhang Shuai move on at Tenerife Ladies Open
- Chinese No 3 battles past Danish No 7 seed Clara Tauson for place in last eight, after epic tussle lasting nearly three hours
- Wang Xinyu retires hurt against Alize Cornet, as Chinese No 1 moves on with Japanese partner Eri Hozumi
China’s Zheng Saisai has progressed to the last eight at the WTA Tenerife Ladies Open after winning an epic encounter with Clara Tauson, while Zhang Shuai is into the doubles semi-finals.
It took Zheng two hours and 48 minutes to overcome the Danish No 7 seed 7-6(7), 2-6, 6-4 in the Canary Islands on Thursday.
China’s No 3 singles player, who is ranked 86th in the world, next plays Colombian world No 63 Camila Osorio in the quarter-finals on Friday evening (local time).
Osorio – who dispatched No 1 seed Elina Svitolina in the first round of the hard court tournament – overcame Egypt’s Mayar Sherif in straight sets, winning 6-4, 6-2.
Elsewhere, China’s Wang Xinyu retired in her round-of-16 tie against Alize Cornet. The match had gone into a deciding set when the 20-year-old stopped, with Cornet taking a 6-1, 6-7(5), 4-1 walkover.
Zhang into doubles second round, Zheng joins Wang in singles
Wang had beaten Zhang Shuai in their first-round encounter, shocking the Chinese No 1 in straight sets.
Zhang is now through to the doubles semi-finals with partner Eri Hozumi of Japan, however.
The No 2 seeds made light work of Indonesia’s Beatrice Gumulya and Peangtarn Plipuech of Thailand, taking just 57 minutes to secure a 6-1, 6-2 victory, and a place in the semi-finals in Spain.
The duo next face the No 4 seeds Ulrikke Eikeri of Norway and Ellen Perez of Australia on Friday afternoon (local time).
Zhang Shuai sent packing by Xinyu Wang in Tenerife
Zhang has qualified for the WTA Finals in Guadalajara, Mexico, next month where she will play with her US Open doubles-winning partner Samantha Stosur of Australia.
They have not featured together since taking the title in New York, though Zhang has continued to play doubles with Sania Mirza of India and Hozumi.
Zhang has stayed on the WTA tour throughout the season, the only Chinese player to do so. Zheng was among those to return to China ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, where she played singles and doubles, and the China National Games.
Several of the biggest names in Chinese tennis, including former No 1 Wang Qiang, have not yet returned to the Tour and are not expected to do so before it concludes next month.
