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Zheng Jie moves on at Nasdaq-100

(Agencies/chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2006-03-27 09:09

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. - China's unseeded Zheng Jie defeated Germany's No. 16 Anna-Lena Groenefeld 6-4, 7-5 Sunday to enter the fourth round at the Nasdaq-100 Open.

	Jie Zheng of China, yell out while hitting a backhand return to Nathalie Dechy of France during their match at the Nasdaq- 100 Open tennis tournament in Key Biscayne, Fla., Saturday, March 25, 2006. [AP]

Zheng will next play the unseeded Jill Craybas, who upset defending champion Clijsters at the second round.

Zheng, who held an embarrasing seven WTA losing streak into the tournament, defeat France's 19-seeded Nathalie Dechy at the second round.  

With many of her chief rivals absent or already eliminated, top-ranked Amelie Mauresmo, who beat hobbled French compatriot Marion Bartoli 6-4, 6-0, became the heavy favorite to reach the final for the first time. 

Second-seeded Kim Clijsters and No. 3 Justine Henin-Hardenne lost their opening matches, while Serena and Venus Williams and Lindsay Davenport withdrew before the tournament.

"I'm aware that Kim and Justine are out, but I'm really focusing on myself and what I have to do," Mauresmo said.

Playing on cozy Court 1 — a rarity for a No. 1 player — Mauresmo broke serve in a 16-point game to close out the first set against the 30th-seeded Bartoli. A trainer taped Bartoli's left knee between sets, and she struggled with her movement the rest of the way, playing in tears at times.

The injury was diagnosed as tendon irritation.

Mauresmo has already won three titles this year, including her first Grand Slam championship at the Australian Open.

"Having the kind of wins that I've had the past three or four months gave me a lot of confidence and put me in a position where I'm pretty relaxed now in the way I handle every tournament I go in, and in the way I'm walking on the court," Mauresmo said.

She'll next face the No. 14 seed, 18-year-old Ana Ivanovic, who defeated Alona Bondarenko 6-3, 5-7, 6-3.

Also avoiding the upset trend was No. 4 Maria Sharapova, who erased eight set points in the second set and beat Maria Elena Camerin 6-2, 7-6 (2).