Zheng Qinwen rallies from double-break down in third, but falls to giant killer Elina Avanesyan
The 21-year-old Russian, ranked 70th in the world, is now 5-0 against Top 15 players.
PARIS—Two Top 8 women's seeds have fallen before the fourth round at Roland Garros, with No. 7 Zheng Qinwen joining No. 6 Maria Sakkari as an upset victim on a soggy Saturday.
Yet if you've followed the brief but impressive career of Elina Avanesyan, this result might not be all that surprising.
The 21-year-old Russian, ranked 70th in the world, is now a remarkable 5-0 against Top 15 players after her 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (6) win that puts her in the fourth round of Roland Garros for the second year in a row. This comes after a third-round run at the Australian Open, which included a straight-set upset of Sakkari.
"It's a really magical place for me," Avanesyan said about Roland Garros. "Last year was amazing, this year as well."
Zheng, the Australian Open runner-up, traded straightforward sets with Avanesyan. Then the players were then forced to contend with that most unpredictable opponent, Mother Nature. The match was postponed for roughly four hours before its dramatic conclusion.
"During the time we wait, they [tell] us every half an hour, half and hour," Zheng told TENNIS.com at Roland Garros. "So we don’t know if you can rest three hours—no, it’s not like this. We have to be really alert. I remember going to the gym three times, warm-up three times, and then come back to the rest room.
"The conditions are difficult, but it’s the same for the opponent."
The 21-year-old Chinese sensation rallied from 2-5 down—a double-break deficit—in the third, winning four straight games to make Avanesyan sweat. Now, Avanesyan found herself serving just to get to the safe haven of a 10-point tiebreaker.
She held and could take a breath. Then she got back to playing the kind of tennis that put Zheng in such a precarious position.
The swing point came at 8-6, Avanesyan. A long rally ensued, with both players moving around the court like pinballs and dealing with some occasional moonballs, all while trying to hit through their opponent—as well as the slow surface on this wet, cold day. Avanesyan did well to keep her nerve during this taxing point and ultimately benefited from a Zheng forehand that somewhat shockingly went wide.
"She had more patience than me today," said Zheng.
Avanesyan claimed the set—technically 73 minutes, but which really lasted the whole afternoon—after a Zheng backhand strayed left of the baseline.
Avanesyan, an even-keeled player but understandably emotional after this win, took the long day, and the victory, in stride.
"After a few days here, I guess everybody gets used to these [conditions]," said Avanesyan said about the rain. "On the break we were just playing cards and drinking tea to be honest. It was really nice."
Next up for Avanesyan? Another Top 15 player, 12th-seeded Jasmine Paolini.