No. 3 seed Zheng Qinwen kicked off her clay season in style after seeing off former world No. 3 Maria Sakkari 6-4 6-1 in an hour and a half of play to routinely progress into the Charleston Open round-of-16.
After a first-round bye, the Chinese earned the lone break of the first set in the seventh game and also saved a break point before closing out the opener on her serve in the 10th game. At the start of the second set, Sakkari served out the opening game and that was all from the Greek since the 2024 Paris Olympics gold medalist won the next six games to dominantly complete her win.
Zheng plays against Elise Mertens for a place in the Charleston quarterfinal.
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Zheng earns her 12th consecutive clay win and warns her Charleston rival
In her last two clay tournaments last summer, the Chinese won Palermo and the Paris Olympics. So now, she stands at 12 consecutive wins on the dirt. And she feels ready to also make it all the way in Charleston.
"[I knew] when I have to attack, when I have to defend, because everybody here is going to make the transition from hard to clay. I believe who does that better here can win the tournament," Zheng said.
After starting her season with a disappointing 1-3 record, the 22-year-old made back-to-back quarterfinals in Indian Wells and Miami. There is a reason behind the Chinese's recent surge - she is back to feeling confident in her body.
"Since Indian Wells, I started to feel better and better. I don't have a doubt in my body," Zheng said on Tennis Channel.
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