BEIJING: 595. Zhang Shuai added another chapter to her renaissance as she stormed into the quarter-finals of her home China Open on Tuesday and made history. Zhang’s 6-4, 6-2 win over Magdalena Frech was her fourth in a row in Beijing – she entered the tournament having lost 24 straight singles matches. The more than 600-day barren streak was the second-longest on the WTA Tour in the Open Era, which began in 1968. The 35-year-old Zhang, a former two-time Grand Slam quarter-finalist who has been plagued by injuries, again made nonsense of her ranking against world No. 31 Polka Frechová. Zhang, a former top 25 player who has won two major doubles titles, will face 19th-ranked Paula Bados of Spain in the round of 16. Zhang, the lowest-ranked player ever to reach this stage of the China Open, battled through the second set against Frech in front of a packed Beijing crowd on her country’s national day. She had two match points while serving at 5:1. Frech almost held on, but it was only a temporary reprieve. Immediately afterwards, Zhang struck a defiant pose, standing motionless with her arms crossed and beaming. Badosa eliminated US Open finalist Jessica Pegula in convincing fashion 6-4, 6-0, making the second-seeded American her biggest casualty yet. Pegula entered the WTA 1000 as one of the top players on the tour and reached the final in New York this month, where she was defeated by Aryna Sabalenkova in straight sets. However, the former world number two Bados, who won the second set in a flash after a balanced first set, was no match. Sabalenka, the top seed in the Chinese capital, plays American 18th seed Madison Keys in the last 16. Defending champion and world number one Iga Swiatek is not participating due to “personal matters”.
