Zheng rues errors after exit

Chinese women's No 1 Zheng Qinwen lost to Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva in a grueling second-round match at the French Open on Wednesday.

With the match evenly poised at 2-2 in the deciding set, Putintseva, a two-time quarterfinalist at Roland Garros, won four consecutive games to clinch the victory, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.

A staggering 49 unforced errors, compared to her opponent's 19, scuppered Zheng's hopes of progressing. Last year, she reached the last 16 in her debut at the clay-court major.

"Too many errors today, especially in the first set. I made it too easy for her," admitted Zheng, who arrived in Paris after reaching the quarterfinals of the Italian Open in Rome. That run propelled Zheng to a career-high world ranking of No 19.

"She combined good long shots and drop shots, which had the effect of making the court seem smaller. So I couldn't find enough space to move back to hit the ball," the 20-year-old added.

Zheng broke into the top 100 in January 2022 after a run through qualifying to the second round of the Australian Open. She has participated in six Grand Slam tournaments, reaching at least the second round in each.

Her career took off at last year's French Open. She subsequently broke into the top 30 and advanced to the final in Tokyo. She also secured the WTA Newcomer of the Year award.

"I think my rise up the rankings has far exceeded my expectations. I still think I could do much better. As for today's match, I think I should have won, but I didn't and that hurts a lot," Zheng confessed.

Putintseva will next face Sloane Stephens of the United States, the former US Open winner who eased into the last 32 with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Russia's world No 56 Anna Blinkova in just an hour and 13 minutes.

Zheng's compatriot Zhang Zhizhen, who made history on Monday by becoming the first Chinese mainland player in the Open era to win a match in the men's singles main draw at Roland Garros, exited the doubles competition at the first round.

The 26-year-old Zhang and Romania's Victor Vlad Cornea lost to Germany's Tim Puetz and Kevin Krawietz, 7-5, 6-4.

Xinhua