China's Zheng Qinwen advances in French Open

PARIS, May 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese star Zheng Qinwen beat German Tamara Korpatsch 6-2, 6-2 to move into the third round of French Open here on Thursday.

Due to the rainy weather in Paris, several matches on Thursday were suspended or postponed several times, and many players experienced a long wait.

The 21-year old from China's Hubei province admitted that she was affected by the long wait but fortunately well adjusted herself in time.

"I felt that I was not in my best condition because I waited for too long, and it was a bit slow to get into the groove," said the Australian Open finalist. "Maybe the opponent was the same. I just played normally and played to my best, and it was good to quickly resolve the situation without getting too entangled with the opponent, which also allowed me to make sufficient preparations for the next round."

"Actually, this is my first time playing a night match on clay. It feels quite different. The ball is not as fast as during the day, and the whole clay court is more solid. It's a different game between day and night."

Zheng will take on Elina Araratovna Avanesyan in the last 32 on Saturday.

Wang Xinyu triumphed over her Bulgarian opponent, Viktoriya Tomova, with a thrilling 7-5, 5-7, 6-1 victory on Thursday.

Despite a temporary rain-induced suspension, Wang persevered and secured the win. This marks Wang Xinyu's second consecutive year advancing to the last 32 at the French Open and her third Grand Slam third-round appearance in her career. Her next challenge will be a match against Russian player Anastasia Potapova.

In the second round of the men's singles at the French Open, China's Zhang Zhizhen hit 17 ACE balls throughout the match, defeating Italian player Lorenzo Sonego 7-5, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 and advancing to the third round.

Zhang will face the men's singles 9th seed, Greek star Stefanos Tsitsipas on Friday.

"The overall return quality of top players is very high, and they are good at seizing opportunities. Once they get an opportunity, they will make you very passive. Luckily, I have been through this kind of situation several times, and I hope I can do better this year than last year." Zhang said.

Their compatriot Wang Yafan struggled in her match on Thursday, succumbing to Dayana Yastremska with scores of 6-2, 6-0, thus ending her campaign in the second round.

Another Chinese athlete, Wang Xiyu, also faced defeat, losing 6-3, 6-4 to Canada's Leylah Fernandez.