PARIS, May 28 -- The 16th-seeded Wang Qiang won an all-Chinese clash 6-1, 7-5 over Zheng Saisai in the women's singles first round of French Open here on Tuesday.
Zheng easily let slip the first set despite managing a break in the fifth game, before making adjustment in the followed-up set to stay ahead at 5-4. However, Wang steadied her nerves to pocket three games in a row, securing her victory with a precise backhand.
"My opponent is adept at playing on clay with her changes and drop shots, so I need to make full preparation for that," said Wang.
Wang noted that she had felt her opponent was not relaxed during the warmup.
"She made many mistakes in the first set, but posed great challenge to me in the second set, looking for opportunities through constant changes," said Wang.
"Before we tied at 5-5 in the second set, I was not quite sure about the result," she added.
Zheng thought that she "messed it up in the first set and did better in the second".
"With so many errors in the first set, I was trying to dicover my chances, but overall, I fared below par," she pointed out.
Prior to Zheng's exit, China's Wang Yafan had been eliminated by Marketa Vondrousova, and Zhu Lin faltered in front of Irina-Camelia Begu.
Zhang Shuai, the other Chinese women's player active in the tournament, will face Estonian veteran Kaia Kanepi in Wednesday's second round action.