The No. 22 seed Zheng Qinwen overcame her Chinese compatriot Wang Xiyu 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 to reach her first tour-level quarterfinal on clay at the Italian Open, here on Monday.
The result also marked No.21-ranked Zheng's second WTA 1000 quarterfinal of her career.
She will next face either No.11 seed Veronika Kudermetova or No.27 seed Marie Bouzkova in a bid to reach her second semifinal of the season, following Abu Dhabu in February.
It was the third time that two Chinese players had met in the last 16 of a WTA 1000 event. At Miami 2019, Wang Qiang defeated Wang Yafan 7-5, 6-4; and at Beijing 2012, Li Na overcame Peng Shuai 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(3).
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Zheng reached her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal in Toronto last year via defeats of Ons Jabeur and Bianca Andreescu. Her run this fortnight has improved her 2023 record to 16-8 (14-8 in WTA main draws).