China's Zheng beats Azarenka to move into Indian Wells third round
Zheng Qinwen plays a backhand in her match against Victoria Azarenka of Belarus at Indian Wells Tennis Garden on March 07, 2025, in Indian Wells, California.
Chinese Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen beat former world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 6-3, 6-4 to advance to the third round of the WTA 1000 event at Indian Wells on Friday.
Eighth-seeded Zheng secured her first victory against Azarenka in their three encounters. Having received a first-round bye, Zheng started her campaign strongly here.
"It's my first time beating Azarenka, such a great player. I tried to play solidly and hit a lot of rallies with her because Azarenka is very consistent. If I don't take my chance, you can see in the second set, I was 2-0 up, but she came back," Zheng said. "She beat me twice when I was 19 and 21, so I'm very happy to win this match."
Meanwhile, Wang Xinyu overcame Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko 6-4, 6-4 to join her compatriot Zheng in the third round.
In the ATP 1000 Indian Wells Masters second round, China's Bu Yunchaokete fell to fifth seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia at 6-2, 6-2.
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