Beijing, Oct. 3 -- China's Zheng Qinwen advanced to the third round of the China Open on Saturday after Russia's Anna Kalinskaya retired while trailing 3-0 in the deciding set.
Playing in front of a packed Diamond Court, Zheng earned the first break in the eighth game of the opening set, but Kalinskaya immediately broke back. Neither player could gain another advantage before Kalinskaya took the tiebreak to win the set 7-6 (4).
With daylight fading and conditions becoming colder and windier, Olympic champion Zheng found her rhythm in the second set, using her powerful serve to take it 6-4 and force a decider.
Zheng broke early in the third set and moved 1-0 ahead before the 27-year-old Kalinskaya calledfor a medical timeout. The Russian ...