China's Wang Xinyu claims first main draw win in French Open

Wang Xinyu of China returns during her women's singles first round match against Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic at the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, May 30, 2023. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

China's Wang Xinyu claimed her first main draw win at the French Open.

PARIS, May 30 (Xinhua) -- China's Wang Xinyu secured her first main draw win at the French Open as the world No. 80 stunned 31st-seeded Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 7-6(5) to advance into the women's singles second round on Tuesday.

The 21-year-old, having already made it into the same stage twice at the Australian Open, had lost four consecutive first-round matches on clay this season.

"I'm happy with my win today. Honestly, I've been progressing on clay this season, trying to find my way on this surface. It was a big inspiration for me to win the match," Wang said in her post-match press conference.

Bouzkova was clinical in the second set, surging to a 4-1 lead thanks to two breaks in the first and fifth games. But Wang stayed calm to claw back, clinching a key break when her Czech opponent was serving for the set at 5-4.

"I didn't think too much in the second set when trailing 4-1 behind, because I was clear in mind how to play and knew her weakness on the court," Wang said.

The match went into a tiebreak after each held serve, while the Chinese player took an early 4-0 lead in the tiebreak before Bouzkova won four points in a row to level the score.

But a forehand unforced error from the world No.33 handed the chance to Wang, who earned two match points after a forehand winner, and then she converted on the second to seal the victory.

Next for Wang will be Swedish world No.87 Rebecca Peterson, who swept Frenchwoman Fiona Ferro 6-2, 6-0 to advance.

"She was a tough opponent to play on clay, good spin with her forehand. And I knew she went into the final in Mexico this season, I will try to prepare for the match," Wang commented about her next round.