Zheng Qinwen posted a statement win on home soil at the Bank of Communications Zhengzhou Open, upsetting No.3 seed Maria Sakkari 7-6(2), 6-3 in 1 hour and 49 minutes to advance to her fifth quarterfinal of 2023.

The result was Zheng's fifth career Top 10 win and first over Sakkari in three meetings. The Greek player had previously ended Zheng's Grand Slam debut in the second round of the 2022 Australian Open; Zheng had also lost in three sets to Sakkari in the first round of Doha this year, despite pulling off one of the shots of the year with a tweener pass.

This summer, Zheng has hit two significant milestones in her young career -- a maiden title in Palermo and a first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the US Open -- and was primed to take revenge.

How the match was won: Zheng, 21, raced out of the blocks with aggressive intent, slamming down an overhead en route to breaking Sakkari for 2-1. But the set remained close as the Guadalajara champion kept on her heels.

Six of the first nine games featured at least one break point, but only two were converted -- the first by Zheng and then, when the Chinese player's backhand went awry in the eighth game, the second by Sakkari to draw level at 4-4.

Despite another flurry of winners, Zheng was unable to regain her advantage in the next game, and from a position of strength found herself having to serve to stay in the set twice. But she showed her mettle by doing so impressively, then dominating the ensuing tiebreak.

There were fewer opportunities in the second set, which was decided by a single break of serve. Zheng's backhand was on song once again, saving an early break point against her with a winner down the line and then finding a delicately sliced pass en route to capturing the Sakkari serve for 4-2.

Highlights: Kalinina d. Zvonareva

Zheng tallied 30 winners to 28 unforced errors in total, and sealed her second match point with a 13th ace. She will next face Anhelina Kalinina, who defeated qualifier Vera Zvonareva 7-5, 6-1 to reach her first quarterfinal since making the Rome final in May.

In Zheng's words: "The gameplan was to be aggressive. The last few times I played against her, I remember I was not aggressive enough. I stayed too long in the same spot. I also tried to improve my first serve percentage and return more in the middle. I had a good performance tonight, I think."

Paolini saves match points to upset Garcia: Another player overcoming a historic nemesis was Jasmine Paolini, currently ranked at a career-high No.31. The Italian had failed to even win a set from Caroline Garcia in four previous meetings, but saved four match points to oust the No.6 seed 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 in 2 hours and 17 minutes.

Like Zheng, Paolini was determined to stay on the front foot against a higher-ranked opponent, and outdid Garcia at net throughout. She staved off all four match points serving at 4-5 in the third set, the last thanks to a brilliantly redirected angle off a deep Garcia return. The result was Paolini's third career Top 10 win, and moves the 27-year-old into her fourth quarterfinal of 2023.