Zheng Qinwen Photo: VCG

China's Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen battled past giant-killer Alina Charaeva 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 on Wednesday to reach the China Open quarterfinals, overcoming another three-set test on the eve of her 24th birthday.

Zheng made a strong start on the Diamond Court, taking the opening set 6-1, but her performance dropped a bit in the second as the evening became colder and conditions slowed her down.

"I started the match quite well. All aspects of my game were working. Maybe in the second set, I felt my level started to drop," Zheng said after the match. "And as the weather got colder and colder, I felt the ball became slower and slower."

The Chinese star, who was playing her first night match of the tournament, nevertheless recovered in the deciding set to end Charaeva's breakthrough run in Beijing.

"I haven't played a night match for quite a long time, so I definitely needed some time to adjust," Zheng said. "But I really wanted to win this match, also for everyone in the stands."

The 23-year-old has now played four consecutive three-set matches at the China Open. 

She opened her campaign with a win over compatriot Shi Han, advanced after 15th seed Anna Kalinskaya retired in the deciding set, and then edged out 18th seed Marie Bouzkova 7-6(3), 4-6, 7-5 in nearly three hours.

Zheng Qinwen Photo: China Open

Before Wednesday, Zheng had already spent more than eight hours on court in Beijing. Her victory over Charaeva extended her run to the quarterfinals, matching her deep run at the tournament in 2024, when she reached the semifinals.

Charaeva entered the match as one of the tournament's biggest stories. 

The 24-year-old Armenian, ranked No.118 in the world, stunned newly crowned world No.1 Elena Rybakina in the second round, becoming the lowest-ranked player in WTA rankings history to rally from a set down against a world No.1.

For Zheng, the victory also came with an unusual birthday milestone. Born on October 8, 2002, she will turn 24 on Thursday.

"Everything came too quickly," Zheng said. "My memories are still stuck around when I was 21 or 22. Maybe because I was sidelined by injury for a year, my memories have remained in the past."

She admitted she was not quite ready to think of herself as 24.

"I'm not ready to turn 24 yet, because in my mind, 24 is already the age when you should be a mature adult. But sometimes I don't feel that way," she said.

"I'm just looking forward to every day ahead, and I hope that each stage of my life can bring me different experiences."

Zheng also paid tribute to the Beijing crowd, with fans staying until the end despite the late hour and falling temperatures.

"I'm really grateful to all the fans who stayed until the end to support me," she said. "Playing three sets in every match is really not easy."

While Zheng advanced in the singles, veteran Chinese player Zhang Shuai also moved into the quarterfinals in the doubles.

Zhang and Czech partner Katerina Siniakova, the top seeds, defeated Nikola Bartunkova and Maja Chwalinska 6-2, 6-1 in 57 minutes on Wednesday. 

The pair had also beaten Chinese duo Feng Shuo and Yuan Yue in their opening match.

The doubles run comes just days after Zhang, 37, won the women's singles silver medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. She lost the all-Chinese final 6-2, 6-1 to Wang Xiyu on October 2.