Chinese tennis star Zheng Qinwen bowed out of the Madrid Open on Friday, falling to Russia’s Anastasia Potapova 6-4, 6-4 in a match that lasted one hour and 40 minutes.
Zheng’s early exit in the round of 64 means that there are now no Chinese players remaining in either the men’s or women’s singles tournaments in Madrid. The Paris Olympics gold medallist, seeded eighth, struggled to find her rhythm against the 87th-ranked Potapova under warm and sunny conditions.
According to Xinhua, Zheng’s serve was a major weakness throughout the match, with the Chinese player winning just 40 percent of points on her first serve in the opening set. In contrast, Potapova showed greater consistency, winning 64 percent of points on her first serve to maintain pressure.
Although Zheng briefly rallied by breaking Potapova’s serve while trailing 5-3, the Russian regained control, breaking again to seal the first set 6-4. In the second set, Zheng broke early and appeared to regain momentum, but her serve faltered once more, leading to breaks in the seventh and ninth games that sealed her defeat.
Elsewhere, Friday’s action saw several seeds tumble. Seventeenth seed Elina Svitolina defeated Sonay Kartal 6-3, 6-1, while Elise Mertens dispatched Camila Osoria 6-3, 6-3. Top seed Aryna Sabalenka began her title defense with a straightforward 6-3, 6-4 win over Anna Blinkova.
However, Zheng was not the only seeded player to suffer an early exit. Former champion and sixth seed Ons Jabeur was upset by Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. In other surprises, Serbia’s Olga Danilovic defeated 21st seed Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-3, 6-4, while Peyton Stearns knocked out 15th seed Amanda Anisimova 6-2, 2-6, 7-5.
(With IANS inputs)
