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SCMP Sport

Zheng Qinwen’s China Open came to an abrupt end on Monday, with the home favourite retiring in the deciding set of her third-round clash against Linda Noskova.
The Chinese world No 9 had recovered from going a set down to draw things level, but was well behind in the third set when she called time on her first tournament since recovering from elbow surgery.
Noskova was 6-4, 3-6, 3-0 up at that point and will now face Russia’s Anastasia Potapova for a place in the quarter-finals.
Zheng said her return from recent elbow surgery had come too soon.
“Okay, now I know to compete third set, the amount of hitting the balls is too much for me,” she said.
Noskova, who ranks 27th in the world, knocked out another Chinese player, Wang Xiyu, in the previous round. It was Zheng’s third career meeting with Noskova, having won both of their previous encounters before Monday’s setback.
In other women’s singles matches, Iga Swiatek continued her largely untroubled progression through the rounds when Colombian opponent Camila Osorio retired hurt before their second set.

There were a spate of retirements in Beijing on Monday, with France’s Lois Boisson also quitting her match Monday in the Chinese capital, stepping away at 6-2 and 1-0 down to American Emma Navarro.
Later, Jessica Pegula saved three match points to get the better of a three-set duel with Emma Raducanu.
Pegula came through a second-set tiebreak to beat No 30 seed Emma Raducanu 3-6, 7-6, 6-0 in two hours and 21 minutes.
It is the second time in as many weeks that Raducanu has lost from three match points up, and via an overtime second-set tiebreak, to a former top three opponent.
“That was a crazy match,” Pegula said. “That was really intense. But I got myself back into the tiebreak and just wanted to keep pressure on. When she hit the double fault [leading 5-4], I knew I was still playing some good tennis. It was right there, it was really, really close.
“And to be honest, I think I got a little lucky on those two backhand winners [both down match point]. But I just tried to keep fighting for as long as I could.”
Raducanu, meanwhile, has committed to trying to play in next month’s Prudential Hong Kong Open, a year after withdrawing from the tournament just days before it was scheduled to start.
The Briton pulled out with a foot injury but has been slowly improving this season, showing flashes of the brilliance that carried her to the US Open title in 2021.
In addition to Raducanu, on Monday organisers announced that 2024 runner-up Katie Boulter would return, along with China’s Zhang Shuai and rising Canadian talent Victoria Mboko.
Moboko’s inclusion sets up the possibility of another meeting with Naomi Osaka, who she beat in August in the final of the Montreal 1000 event, securing her first WTA title.


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Sport

Tennis

Chinese No 1 ends comeback tournament early after spending two months out recovering from elbow surgery


Chinese No 1 ends comeback tournament early after spending two months out recovering from elbow surgery.


Zheng Qinwen retires at China Open, quits when trailing Novoska in deciding set

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Chinese No 1 ends comeback tournament early after spending two months out recovering from elbow surgery

Chinese No 1 ends comeback tournament early after spending two months out recovering from elbow surgery