No. 3 seed Zheng Qinwen has made her third consecutive quarterfinal after overcoming 13th-seeded Elise Mertens 6-3 3-6 6-3 in just less than two and a half hours of play in the Charleston Open round-of-16.
Midway through the first set, the Chinese got the first break of the match. While the No. 3 seed blew it, she earned another one in the eighth game before closing out the opener in the following game.
The second set was similar to the first set but there was only one difference - this time it was Mertens who got the first break - blew it - before claiming another one and then holding to her serve to clinch the set.
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After losing the second set, Zheng made a slow start to the decider and lost the opening two games. Fortunately for the Chinese, she was able to quickly respond and end the Belgian's momentum after winning the next five games to overturn the deficit and open a 5-2 lead. Serving for the match in the ninth game, the No. 3 seed faced difficulty but managed to save five break points before realizing her second match point to complete her win.
Zheng wasn't messing around when she warned her rivals
After starting the year 1-3, the 2024 Australian Open runner-up found her groove in the United States by making back-to-back quarterfinals at the WTA 1000 tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami.
"Since Indian Wells, I started to feel better and better. I don't have a doubt in my body," Zheng said on Tennis Channel after her opening Charleston win against Maria Sakkari.
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In the Charleston quarterfinal, the third-seeded Chinese will play against No. 9 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova. A bit interestingly, they have played twice and their first match came in Charleston three years ago - the Chinese retired that match late in the third set. They also played at the 2023 Madrid Open and Alexandrova also won that meeting.
However, a lot has changed since they clashed the last time and Zheng is now the favorite to win.
