Third-seeded Zheng Qinwen of China confidently advanced to the Round of 16 at the Credit One Charleston Open on Wednesday evening, defeating Maria Sakkari of Greece 6-4, 6-1 in a significant second-round match.
Charleston: Draws | Scores | Order of play
Making her first Charleston appearance since her debut tournament in 2022, reigning Olympic gold medalist Zheng needed 1 hour and 32 minutes to overcome former World No. 3 Sakkari, who reached the Charleston semifinals last year.
Here are some key points from their match:
Zheng Continues Clay-Court Dominance
Sakkari entered the match with a 2-1 lead in their head-to-head record against Zheng, but all previous matches were played on hard courts.
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Clay, however, is a different surface. Before this week, Zheng`s most recent tournament on clay was her historic gold medal victory at the 2024 Paris Olympics, held at Roland Garros.
Zheng carried that clay-court confidence into this match, now boasting a 12-match winning streak on this surface (preceding her Olympic run with a title in Palermo).
In contrast, Sakkari`s ranking has fallen from No. 7 to No. 64 in the past year, and her record for this year is 6-11. Sakkari was aiming for her first Top 10 victory in over a year but now has an 0-8 record against Top 10 players since defeating Coco Gauff at the 2024 Indian Wells.
Powerful Shots Lead Zheng Forward
Zheng`s standard game is effective on clay, where her powerful, deep forehands control the court. She utilized this shot to navigate a lengthy 3-3 game and secure the only break in the first set.
As last year`s ace leader on the Hologic WTA Tour, Zheng`s first serve remains a significant advantage, even on clay. She used a strong serve to save a break point and consolidate her lead to 5-3, eventually taking the first set.
The first serve was crucial in the second set as well, which Zheng dominated. It made a big difference when she landed that shot – Zheng won 87.5 percent of her first-serve points but was more vulnerable on her second serve, winning only a third of those points.
Nevertheless, Zheng got enough first serves in play to secure victory without losing her serve (saving 2 out of 2 break points). Fittingly, her final shot was a powerful cross-court forehand to win the match point.
First Encounter Awaits
Zheng`s next match in the Round of 16 will be against either No. 13 seed Elise Mertens of Belgium or Varvara Gracheva of France. They are scheduled to play in the final match on Credit One Stadium on Wednesday.
Zheng is guaranteed a new opponent as she has never faced former Top 15 player Mertens or Gracheva before.
More updates to come…
Rupert Caldwell