China's resilient aces weather the storm

Zheng Qinwen, Wang Xiyu triumph in Rome rain to set up fourth-round clash

Not the weather, not their opponents and certainly not their least-favorite surface.

Nothing could apparently slow down Chinese duo Zheng Qinwen and Wang Xiyu at the Italian Open over the weekend as they overcame plenty of challenges to set up a highly anticipated all-Chinese round-of-16 battle on Monday.

Both women played amid sporadic rain in Rome which made the clay courts slippery and slowed the flight of the balls. Zheng defeated Hungary's Anna Bondar in straight sets on Saturday after Wang saved a match point to upend American ace Taylor Townsend in three sets.

Wang's victory sees her reach the fourth round of a WTA 1000 event for the first time, while Zheng will be making her third appearance at that stage, although she had never made it that far on clay before.

Representing China's next-gen on the women's circuit, the "derby "between Zheng and Wang underlines the country's continuing prowess in the elite women's ranks since the retirement of the so-called "Golden Flowers", led by two-time Grand Slam champion Li Na.

The two are stoked for what will be a rematch of their encounter at a WTA 125 tournament last June in Valencia, Spain, where Zheng prevailed 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.

"I think it's a great opportunity (to promote Chinese women's tennis).Playing a compatriot on the tour has been something of a rarity for me in recent years," said Wang after coming back from a break down in the decisive set to outlast Townsend 6-2,0-6, 7-5 on Saturday afternoon.

"Zheng is a great competitor, almost top-20. I will need to try my best with each and every shot …I believe I can learn a lot from this match," said the 22-year-old world No 75.

The last time two Chinese players met in the fourth round of a WTA 1000 tournament was in March 2019, when Wang Qiang beat Wang Yafan in straight sets on a hard court in Miami.

Zheng, currently the top-ranked Chinese woman at No 21, expects nothing but a tough fight against the lefty again.

"She is a very aggressive player and sort of has an advantage serving with her left hand. I need to go all out for sure against such as a tough opponent. It will be another challenge for me," said Zheng, who withstood a flurry of Bondar's high-bouncing top-spin shots and the slow court to advance, 7-6 (2), 6-4, in two hours and seven minutes.

As a power-hitter who prefers the faster pace of hard courts, Zheng was particularly encouraged by her patience and commitment in coping with the conditions.

"The match today was a mental test more than anything," said Zheng. "The rain made the ball really heavy and slow. Her shots bounced high, disrupting my rhythm, and physically I am not 100 percent. I didn't play good tennis today. I just hung in there and tried to hit the ball back," said the 20-year-old native of Hubei province.

Wang Xiyu is enjoying a recent surge on clay, racking up two impressive victories over top-30 opponents — Canada's then 27thranked Bianca Andreescu in Madrid on April 29 followed by Romania's Irina-Camelia Begu (No 27) in Rome on Thursday.

Wang, who was developed at Beijing's 1123 tennis academy, credits the input of coach Nigel Sears for her recent breakthroughs.

Sears, who is the father-in-law of former world No 1 Andy Murray, has helped the likes of Daniela Hantuchova, Ana Ivanovic and Anett Kontaveit crack the world's top 10. The Briton began to work with Wang in February.

"It's a lot of details about my match, my technique. Sometimes I feel like it's too much but I'm trying to do my best and learn," Wang told wtatennis.com of Sears' influence.

"You need the technique to have the base to play tennis and play the match. That is very important. So I'm trying to build myself from the basics to be more complete."

Sears' tutelage touches on every aspect of Wang's game, from technique to footwork to mental strength.

Her growing confidence on the surface was on full display on Saturday.

In the damp conditions at Foro Italico, Wang built on her baseline firepower to dominate the opening set, yet began to lose her rhythm on her serve and groundstrokes as the rain came down heavier in the second set, where Townsend's power prevailed.

Trailing 5-4 in the decisive set with Townsend serving for the win, Wang held her nerve to save a match point and break the American doubles specialist twice while holding her own service game to pull off the win.

"Her serve and forehand were really strong. Also she plays slice shots well, so she has a complete game. This is something I need to learn from her," said Wang, who reached a career-high ranking of No 49 in January.

"It's a good experience for me because it's unusual for me to play in heavy rain. It was a learning process. I'm happy to make it this far, and I am raring to play more matches."