Zheng Qinwen eases through, faces rising Canadian star Victoria Mboko next at French Open

Zheng Qinwen continues to motor through at the French Open staving off the test of Emiliana Arango who took down Alexandra Eala last round at Roland Garros.

The No.8 seed overcame the test of Arango 6-2, 6-3 in one hour and 37 minutes in a contest that was tougher than the scoreline but one that reflects well on the Chinese No.1 who will aim to take advantage this tournament of some fragility from the top names.

Last year, she was crowned Olympic gold medalist on this surface so in reality is the last champion at Roland Garros defeating Iga Swiatek along the way who has not really been the same since. But Arango is a player she has experience facing albeit a long time ago.

They met back in 2021 at an ITF W25 in Hamburg, Germany where Zheng took the win 6-4, 6-4. It saw the now top star go around Europe in search of ranking points during the COVID era. They met back then in the first qualifying round.

One of six ITF titles back then that Zheng won. Eerily, Victoria Mboko her next opponent has had similar success as of late. The 18-year-old has been a player that no-one wants to draw. Rising to the occasion amid top Canadian's such as Leylah Fernandez and even Bianca Andreescu not performing, Mboko has hoisted the mantle on her back and saw off a tough test in her tie.

That being Eva Lys who thrashed Peyton Stearns last round but in reality couldn't reproduce that. Such has been the case at times with Lys who often shows form in fits and starts but then can't produce a run. But Mboko is producing runs at an alarming pace. She has won five titles this year alone and reached a final of a WTA 125 in Parma. A route taken by both Qinwen Zheng and also Emma Navarro who has also been a top 10 star in the past year. The Canadian has taken Paula Badosa and Coco Gauff the distance recently and will likely do so again next against Qinwen.

Match Statistics Lys vs. Mboko