The round of 16 match at the WTA 1000 event in Beijing ended with Qinwen Zheng defeating Alina Charaeva 6-1 2-6 6-4. The match was played on hard court, and the tournament prize money is $9.4 million, according to api.tennis. Zheng’s next round is the quarterfinal.
Three sets and a different score in each
Zheng took the first set in a one-sided 6-1. In the second, Charaeva fought back and won it 6-2 to level the match. Everything was decided in the third set: Zheng took it 6-4 and closed out the match 2:1 in sets. There is no detailed match statistics in api.tennis, so the result can only be read from the scoreline.
Zheng’s run in Beijing consisted entirely of three-set matches. In the first round, she beat Han Shi (7-6(6) 4-6 6-2), then Anna Kalinskaya (6-7(4) 6-4 3-0) and Maria Bouzkova (7-6(3) 4-6 7-5). The match with Charaeva became the fourth straight one in which a deciding set was needed. In the rankings, according to rank.tennis, Zheng is 42nd with 1233 points.
Charaeva, who is ranked 98th with 759 points, had won three matches before the round of 16. She beat Yuliia Starodubtseva (5-7 7-5 6-2), Elena Rybakina (3-6 6-4 6-3) and Sonay Kartal (6-4 6-1). In the first two meetings she lost the opening set, but found the strength to turn the match around. Against Zheng, the scenario was different: after winning the second set, Charaeva could not maintain the momentum in the third.
In the head-to-head record, according to api.tennis, there is one match between the pair, and that is today's match in Beijing. For Zheng, it became the first line in this rivalry.