Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France returns the ball against Zhang Ze of China during their men's singles match at the China Open in Beijing on Thursday. Tsonga knocked out Zhang, 6-3, 6-4. [Photo/Agencies]

BEIJING - There was no miracle in Beijing.

Ranked No 389 in the world, China's Zhang Ze failed to challenge world No 6 and top seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France, losing in straight sets in the second round of the China Open on Thursday.

But Zhang didn't fail to entertain a home crowd that included retired basketball icon Yao Ming with solid hits, four aces and seven winners in a 6-3, 6-4 loss that took 76 minutes.

"The gap was not as big as I had expected before the match," Zhang said. "I don't think my technique is much worse than his, it's just the mental strength and experience.

"My goal is to break into the top 100 in the ATP rankings - the match for sure has boosted my confidence."

Thanks to a huge strength gap and a lack of experience, Zhang was a little nervous at the beginning, losing five games in a row.

But he found his form and won three games in a row before losing the first set.

He kept it to 3-3 in the second set, but Tsonga broke in the seventh and finally won 6-4.

Zhang had five faults to Tsonga's one.

"I didn't play very well at the beginning - I lost my tempo and was too eager to attack," Zhang said.

"I think the main difference is the service and return. Also, I need more experience playing the high-level players like him. It really helps a lot."

Tsonga agreed.

"He needs to improve his service and return," said the 2008 Australian Open runner-up. "It decides your level of play. It is also the main difference among the top 100 players."

Wildcard Zhang became the only Chinese player to advance to the second round in men's singles when he defeated compatriot Li Zhe in straight sets on Tuesday. It was also his first win in the main draw on the ATP tour.

In January, Zhang landed the best world ranking of his career - No 288.

With the points he earned in Beijing, Zhang is expected to move near the top 300 again and surpass Li to become China's No 1.

Next up for Tsonga is former World No 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain, who downed compatriot Marcel Granollers in straight sets in an earlier match.

On the women's side, second seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus withdrew before her match against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia due to a foot injury.

Two-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist Pavlyuchenkova will play German Andrea Petkovic for a spot in the semifinals.

China Daily