China’s Zheng Qinwen moves into final 16 at National Bank Open in Toronto after Jabeur forced to retire
- No 5 seed Ons Jabeur forced to quit second-round showdown with China’s Zheng Qinwen, who now meets former world No 4 Bianca Andreescu in the final 16
- Zheng, ranked No 51 edged out Canadian wild card Rebecca Marino 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 in the previous round of the Canadian Open
China’s Zheng Qinwen moved into the last 16 of the National Bank Open in Toronto early on Thursday after No 5 seed Ons Jabeur retired with abdominal pain.
The surging 19-year-old was leading Jabeur 6-1, 2-1 when she was forced to withdraw from their second-round match. Zheng had edged out Canadian wild card Rebecca Marino 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 in the previous round.
Zheng has now collected two hard-court wins in a row at tour-level for the first time since January, including the first top 10 win of her career with the victory over Jabeur.
Ranked No 51, Zheng is in the midst of her breakthrough season, which she started ranked No 143. She will now face Bianca Andreescu, their first meeting.
Earlier on Thursday, Anett Kontaveit was another top 5 player to be ousted from the tournament in their opening matches following first-round byes after world No 21 Jil Teichmann upset No 2 seed Kontaveit 6-4, 6-4 in 1 hour and 27 minutes to reach the round of 16 in Toronto.
Teichmann converted four of her six break points while also fending off six of the eight break points she faced.
Teichmann earned the fifth Top 5 win of her career, and she defeated a current World No 2 for the second time. She had previously beaten then No 2 Naomi Osaka during her run to the WTA 1000 Cincinnati final last year.
