BEIJING, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Top seed Wang Manyu of China held off India's unorthodox Manika Batra in the women's singles round of 32, while men's top seed Felix Lebrun of France and Chinese Taipei's Lin Yun-Ju fought hard to reach last 16 at the 2026 WTT China Smash here on Tuesday.
Wang, who had opened her campaign with a 3-0 win over Amy Wang of the United States on Sunday, defeated the long-pimple specialist 11-5, 9-11, 11-6, 11-5 in 31 minutes. The newly crowned women's singles champion at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, however, was far from satisfied with her performance.
"Although the result today was a win, I think there were still some problems during the process that I need to summarize or adjust in time," Wang told reporters in the mixed zone. "I didn't handle some opportunity balls particularly well, and there were some unforced errors.
"I think on one hand, my focus and intensity on court were a little lacking; on the other hand, because she has a special playing style, I was a little slow in making adjustments."
Batra, ranked 58th in the world, had upset Wang at the 2024 Saudi Smash. Her long-pimple rubber again caused problems in the second game, with Wang falling 0-4 behind before fighting back to 9-9, only to lose the next two points and the game 11-9.
"When I was down 0-4 early in the second game, I didn't do a good job of minimizing my mistakes. Otherwise, I think I would have been very much on top in today's match," Wang reflected.
"But I think this is also part of the match. Whether I play well or not, I have to fight to win the match," the 27-year-old added.
Wang regained control in the third game, building a 3-0 lead and pulling away after 4-4 to take it 11-6. In the fourth, she broke a 5-5 tie with five consecutive points before closing out the match.
Wang will next face teammate Shi Xunyao in the round of 16 after Shi overcame a first-game deficit to beat Poland's Natalia Bajor 13-11, 11-7, 11-9.
Fifth seed Wang Yidi joined her compatriot in the last 16 with a 15-13, 11-9, 2-11, 11-7 win over Cheng I-Ching of Chinese Taipei, setting up an all-Chinese clash with Chen Yi, who swept France's Yuan Jianan 11-8, 11-7, 11-3.
In other women's singles action, third seed Miwa Harimoto of Japan beat qualifier Su Tsz Tung of Hong Kong, China 11-5, 13-15, 11-6, 11-5, while Fan Shuhan and Wang Xiaotong were the host's casualties on Tuesday, losing to Japan's Hina Hayata and teammate He Zhuojia respectively.
In the men's singles, 19-year-old Wen Ruibo beat Germany's Benedikt Duda 11-6, 11-8, 11-7, while Huang Youzheng fell to Lin Yun-Ju 6-11, 11-6, 11-6, 8-11, 13-15 after holding two match points. Chinese qualifiers Yuan Licen and Xu Yingbin were also eliminated.
World No. 2 Lebrun, a penholder, defeated compatriot Flavien Coton 9-11, 14-12, 11-9, 11-4. In the pair's third meeting this season, Coton, ranked 23rd, took the opening game and held two game points in the second, but Lebrun saved both to level the match. The 20-year-old then edged a close third game before cruising through the fourth.
In mixed doubles, Huang Youzheng and Chen Yi reached the quarterfinals by beating teammates Yuan Licen and Wang Yidi 11-8, 11-6, 11-7. They will face Japan's Sora Matsushima and Miwa Harimoto. In women's doubles, Chen Yi/Li Yihui and Gao Yuxin/Xiang Junlin advanced, while in men's doubles Zhou Qihao/Chen Junsong won and Xue Fei/Kanak Jha lost. ■
