French Open: Zheng Qinwen is first woman into last 16 after beating Mboko
Zheng takes her run of successive victories at Roland Garros to nine matches after winning Olympic gold there last year
Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen became the first woman to qualify for the French Open last 16 on Friday with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko.
Top women’s seed Aryna Sabalenka also eased through, as Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti rallied from a set down to book his ticket to the men’s fourth round.
Chinese eighth seed Zheng claimed her Olympic gold at Roland Garros last year and has won nine successive matches at the venue after seeing off Mboko.
“We had some really good points, it was not an easy match,” Zheng said.
“Today was a tough battle against Qinwen,” 18-year-old grand slam newcomer Mboko said. “Lots of things to learn and hopefully come back to my next tournament with some more positives and improve on my game.”
Zheng is through to the fourth round in Paris for the second time and will next Russian 19th seed Liudmila Samsonova, who brushed aside Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska 6-2, 6-3.