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China's Zheng Qinwen reaches second round at WTA Adelaide International

(Xinhua) 08:57, January 11, 2023

BEIJING, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- China's Zheng Qinwen rallied past Shelby Rogers of the United States 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 to advance to the second round of the WTA Adelaide International 2 on Tuesday.

The 20-year-old lost the first set before winning eight consecutive games when both players leveled at 4-4 in the second set, earning a spot to face two-time Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic, who knocked out Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina.

"I will hold myself to a higher standard this season and hopefully I can perform better," said 2022 WTA newcomer Zheng. "If I want to be a top player and win Grand Slams, I have to improve my mentality."

Also on Tuesday, Chinese teenager Shang Juncheng claimed his first Grand Slam victory after defeating Fabian Marozsan of Hungary 6-4, 7-6 (2) in the first round of Australian Open qualifying.

The 17-year-old said he was satisfied with his Grand Slam debut. "I think I'm very calm, which is the most important thing in every game."

Shang will next meet his role model, Spanish veteran Fernando Verdasco.

"I watched him play when I was a kid. He was one of the role models who I learned from," Shang said. "I won't be under pressure tomorrow, and I'm excited to play against a former top 10 player."

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)

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