China's Zheng Qinwen into Indian Wells quarterfinals
Zheng Qinwen hits a shot as she defeated Marta Kostyuk in her fourth round match at the BNP Paribas Open the at Indian Well Tennis Garden.
China's Zheng Qinwen stormed into her first WTA 1000 Indian Wells quarterfinal with a decisive 6-3, 6-2 victory over Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk in Monday's fourth-round clash, marking her seventh career appearance in the last eight at this tournament tier.
The eighth-seeded Chinese star needed just 80 minutes to dispatch the 18th-seeded Kostyuk. "I needed to balance controlled aggression today," Zheng analyzed post-match. "Kostyuk was more aggressive but she also had more unforced errors. I wasn't playing at my best level but it was enough for me to advance."
The breakthrough follows a turbulent start to the season for Zheng, who navigated injury concerns and coaching adjustments before reuniting with Spanish mentor Pere Riba.
"Riba's return shifted our focus from physical limitations to court execution. We've intensified training loads while eliminating excessive injury talk - that mental freedom translates to better movement during matches," Zheng said.
Zheng's quarterfinal challenge comes against world No. 2 and four-time Grand Slam winner Iga Swiatek of Poland in their eighth career meeting. Zheng's only victory over Swiatek came in the Paris Olympics semifinal encounter.
In doubles action, Chinese veteran Zhang Shuai and partner Hsieh Su-wei of Chinese Taipei advanced to the semifinals with a straight-sets victory.
