PARIS, May 31 (Xinhua) -- Chinese player Wang Xinyu was defeated by Russia's Anastasia Potapova in a three-set thriller 7-5, 6-7 (8-6), 6-4 in the third round of the French Open on Friday, stopping at the same stage for the second consecutive year.
In the men's competition, another Chinese player, Zhang Zhizhen, lost three consecutive sets to the 9th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 6-3, 6-1, also halting at the round of 32 stage on the red dirt major for the second year in a row.
Thus, women's 7th seed Zheng Qinwen is the only Chinese player remaining in the singles competition at this year's Roland Garros. The Australian finalist will face Russia's world No.70 Elina Avanesyan on Sunday.
World No. 37 Wang had gained a break advantage twice in the deciding set against Potapova and was leading 4-3 on serve. However, in the following eighth game, an unforced error allowed Potapova to break back. The world No. 41 then held her serve and broke Wang's again, winning two consecutive games to end the grueling match, which lasted 2 hours and 50 minutes.
"I think my opponent performed better at critical moments today. She was more relaxed and bolder in her play. Therefore, I am not particularly satisfied with my own performance. Whether I win or lose, I initially wanted to fight for every point and enjoy the match, but the reality did not quite meet my expectations," Wand said after the match.
Wang went into the match strong, surging to a 5-0 in the first set before the match was interrupted by a sudden rain. After the match resumed, Potapova's form improved, while Wang's unforced errors increased. The Russian swept seven consecutive games to take the first set.
"The first set, I could feel that my opponent was very nervous at the beginning, so the first few games didn't reflect her true level. I also anticipated that after the pause, we would come back more relaxed. So, in essence, it was like starting a new match," the 22-year-old said. "Even at a 5-0 lead, I think both of us were a little confused at that moment."
Wang showed her resilience in the second set, breaking back in the eighth game to level the set 4-4. After squandering three set points in the tiebreak from 6-3, she restored to win two straight points to close the set.
Potapova will challenge defending champion Iga Swiatek of Poland for a place in the quarterfinals. The top seed defeated the Czech Marie Bouzkova 6-4, 6-2 to progress.
In contrast to Wang's hard-fought exit, Zhang's match against Greek player Tsitsipas was rather one-sided. The highest-ranked Chinese male player did not earn a single break point against the 2021 runner-up as the match concluded in just an hour and a half.
"Today, I felt like there was no time to make any adjustments. You know he's extremely strong, but today there were some shots where it was impossible to hit to his defensive zone every time. Sometimes you need to transition and create space by pulling him out of position with forehand shots before attacking his defense. But he did exceptionally well today. Every time I tried to do that, it felt like the point was already over like I had no chance at all, " Zhang said.
Tsitsipas hit 30 winners throughout the match, nearly doubling Zhang's 17. The world No.9 also converted 5 out of 6 break point opportunities en his route to reach at least the fourth round in Roland Garros five consecutive times.
"I would say today's performance was one of the best matches I have played so far in this tournament. It's great to see myself in a position to get out there and play so effectively but also accurately at the same time. I feel like my shots were very precise, " said Tsitsipas, who lifted his third trophy at Monte-Carlo Master to kick off the clay season in April.
The 27-year-old Zhang made a significant breakthrough on the red dirt last season by reaching the quarterfinals of the ATP 1000 Madrid Masters and the third round of the French Open, setting a record for Chinese male players in a clay-court Grand Slam. This year, despite a slow start on clay, Zhang's performance improved as he once again reached the quarterfinals at the Rome Masters and advanced to the third round in Paris once again. By doing so, Zhang successfully accomplished the seemingly challenging task of "defending his ranking points", keeping him in the top 50 in the coming weeks.
"Overall, these several weeks were surprising for me. After my first-round exit in Madrid, I didn't expect to reach the quarterfinals in Rome. Similarly, today's performance at the French Open was unexpected. Of course, my expectations for Grand Slams have evolved. It's no longer about just winning the first round, it's about advancing to the second week or reaching the second or third rounds and beyond. So, in terms of Grand Slam performance, I was still satisfied," Zhang said.
Tsitsipas will next play Italy's Matteo Arnaldi, who upset 6th seed Andrey Rublev 7-6 (8-6), 6-2, 6-4 to reach the fourth round at Roland Garros for his first time. ■
