Monica Niculescu was ousted by the home favorite, Wang Qiang, in the second round of the Shenzhen Open on Tuesday. From a medical timeout to clutch drop shots, this macth had it all. Qiang needed over two hours to pull off the upset.
Qiang pulls off brilliant first-set comeback
Niculescu and Qiang started the day on Centre Court in their second round match. The match quickly began into Niculescu's liking as she broke in the opening game before consolidating with a lengthy hold. Qiang then scrambled onto the scoreboard to avoid being down a double break early on. Soon after, the Romanian took advantage of the unforced errors from Qiang to hold for a 3-1 advantage. The Chinese power-hitter, however, leveled the set, and in the midst of Qiang's fight back, Niculescu struggled with dizziness.
The crafty Romanian broke back right away before calling for a medical timeout on the change of ends. The treatment seemed to rejuvenate Niculescu as she came back strong and held to love. Qiang was forced to serve to stay in the set with Niculescu ahead five games to three, and she was successful before going on to clinch the next three games. As always, the Romanian never gave up, holding to 30 to approach a first set tiebreak. The tiebreak was one-way traffic with Qiang winning the final seven points of the set to take it in style, 7-6(1) in over 75 minutes.
Niculescu exits early
The second set started with four consecutive breaks as both players excelled on their return games. The string of breaks ended as soon as Niculescu utilized the backhand down the line to hold to love. Signs of hope were apparent as the seventh seed held a 3-2 lead in the second set. Qiang followed, and she raised her game to level the second set at three games apiece. It was not long before the home-crowd favorite grabbed the clutch break to stretch ahead of the Romanian.
The crowd stayed supportive for their countrywoman throughout the match's entirety. Qiang maintained her aggressive, consistent tennis and held to be a game away from the quarterfinals. Although, Niculescu stayed strong and forced Qiang to have to serve it out at 5-4 in the second set. In spite of facing a handful of break points, Qiang closed the match out in clutch fashion, ending a tight victory with a score of 7-6(1), 6-4.
Chinese hopeful makes quarterfinal
Qiang's quarterfinal match is against either Camila Giorgi or Saisai Zheng. The China native has never before played either one of her potential final eight opponents, but with the confidence she gained after beating the seventh seed, she is capable of an upset in any circumstance.