NAGOYA, Japan, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- Wang Xiyu of China powered past Kazakhstan's Sonja Zhiyenbayeva 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 in the women's singles second round at the 2026 Asian Games on Tuesday to reach the quarterfinals.
Wang converted five of eight break points and won 78% of points on her first serve. Her return game proved decisive, as she won 48% of her return points compared with 28% for Zhiyenbayeva.
Wang will next face Japan's Moyuka Uchijima in the quarterfinals.
On the men's side, China's 18-year-old Meng Fanming, who received a first-round bye, was beaten 6-1, 6-4 by Uzbekistan's Khumoyun Sultanov in the second round.
Meng broke Sultanov in the sixth game of the second set to level the score at 3-3, but Sultanov broke back immediately and went on to close out the match.
"It's hard not to feel nervous when you compete in such a big multi-sport event for the first time. I got a little rattled on court and didn't follow my game plan clearly," Meng said after the match.
"In the latter part of the second set, my opponent served really well and picked up his pace out of nowhere, and I struggled to handle it."
Meng said Sultanov's serve and baseline game had given him particular difficulty.
"His serve is clearly superior to mine. His first serve gave me real problems, but mine barely created any threat for him," Meng said. "Then there's the baseline play. He hits with wider angles and keeps good pace and quality on his shots."
In men's doubles, China's Zhang Tianhui and Jiang Fumin edged Thailand's Pawit Sornlaksup and Wishaya Trongcharoenchaikul 7-6(1), 3-6, 10-5 to reach the quarterfinals. ■
