NEW YORK, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) -- China's Zheng Qinwen reached the US Open third round on Thursday with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 victory over Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva, returning to the last 32 of a Grand Slam for the first time in 15 months after a difficult comeback from injury.
The reigning Olympic champion took a 5-2 lead and eventually closing out the opening set 6-4, winning all of her first-serve points in the set.
Putintseva, however, disrupted Zheng's rhythm in the second set with her high, looping balls. Zheng committed 23 unforced errors as the Kazakh leveled the match 2-6.
Soaked in the New York heat, Zheng changed her clothes during the break and quickly regained control in the decider, taking it 6-1 to secure her first victory over Putintseva in three meetings.
"Today the win was really not easy. She beat me before, she has this tricky game with the high ball, and she also beat Bencic in the last round," Zheng said.
"For me, this wins means a lot. I haven't won the last two times when I was playing Grand Slam matches. Today, I give everything on court," she added.
The victory continues a vital turnaround for Zheng, who entered the US Open having dropped outside the world top 100 and forced to play qualifying after struggling for wins following surgery. After the match she lay on the court and cried.
"When I come back after two months with a surgery, at that moment, I was still quiet in the tournament, in the match, and in the mood. But the second time, when I come back, it was hard, because I felt I totally lost the dynamic of how to compete."
"Because I've been every day living a life, training, but without any pressure, without any adrenaline, it's like I didn't find them for a while."
She said the US Open has been the first tournament in which she felt that competitive instinct returning.
"Now, after two or three months, I really felt for the first time in this tournament that I found myself and my fire again. It's like I can really scream 'Come on!' on court and fight."
Zheng said she now views victories differently to before her surgery. "Before the surgery, I had really good result. For me, winning is like drinking water. Everything come natural, everything come fluent."
"After my surgery, I had some tough match against the best player in the world. I'm close, but I didn't get them. And I'm struggling for two, three months without winning matches like how I used to be."
"So, when I come here, every win for me, it's not easy, and I try to fight really hard to get the win. Because it's not like natural for me right now. I have to really fight back, and I need to find those dynamic."
Zheng will next face 22nd-seeded American Madison Keys. ■
