BEIJING: Olympic champion and hometown hero Zheng Qinwen thrilled a packed house at the China Open on Saturday to join top seed Aryna Sabalenka in the third round in Beijing.

Sabalenka labored in the first set before defeating tricky Thai qualifier Mananchaya Sawangkaew 6-4, 6-1 in her first match since winning the US Open. Zheng, playing at home for the first time since winning Paris gold, swatted aside 71st-ranked Russian Kamilla Rakhimova 6-1, 6-1 in 75 minutes.

Sabalenka and Zheng are on course to meet in the semi-finals in a repeat of the Australian Open final, where the Belarusian crushed her opponent 6-3, 6-2. But with the crowd screaming her on, the 21-year-old Zheng should be a different proposition in the Chinese capital.

The fifth seed plays Nadia Podoroska of Argentina or Ukraine’s 25th seed Dayana Yastremska next. Sabalenka faces 68th-ranked Ashlyn Krueger of the United States. The world number two made hard work in the first set of an opponent ranked 187 in the world and playing the biggest match of her young career.

Sabalenka barely raised a smile at the end after eventually easing to a straight-sets victory. "I’m super-happy to get through this match,” the 26-year-old said. "In the first set I was struggling a little bit with the rhythm, with the speed of the court, with the way balls are getting heavier.

"In the second set seems like everything started working much better.” The 22-year-old Mananchaya may have been inexperienced at this level but the athletic Thai refused to give up seemingly lost causes. Mananchaya struggled though on serve and three-time major champion Sabalenka broke for a 4-2 first-set lead. The Thai refused to be overwhelmed by Sabalenka’s far greater power and she broke back immediately, to roars of approval from the Beijing crowd.

An error-prone Sabalenka could not get into her groove but created a first set point on the Thai’s serve, only to put a straightforward volley wide. She made no mistake on her second opportunity and then broke for 3-1 in the second set as she belatedly found form.

Also into the third round of the WTA 1000 event is third seed Jasmine Paolini, but the Italian did it the hard way, fighting back to beat Denmark’s Clara Tauson 1-6, 7-5, 6-4. World number one and defending champion Iga Swiatek pulled out before the tournament because of "personal matters”.

Meanwhile, fifth seed Tommy Paul became the latest top player to make an early exit at the Japan Open when he lost 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) to Tomas Machac in the second round on Saturday. The American’s departure means only two of the eight seeds are still standing in Tokyo. Top seed Taylor Fritz, number three Casper Ruud, fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and number seven Frances Tiafoe all lost in the first round.

Hubert Hurkacz, seeded two, was beaten by Britain’s Jack Draper in the second round. Denmark’s number six seed Holger Rune avoided an upset with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka. But Paul failed to join him in the quarter-finals after letting the Czech Republic’s Machac back into a match that the American looked to have total control of.

"Even the not-seeded players here are great,” said the 23-year-old Machac, who has a world ranking of 34 and is looking to win his first career title. "I’m just happy that I’m in and I just try to believe as much as possible.” Paul won five straight games in the first set but Machac came roaring back in the second and dug in when he found himself 3-0 down in the final set.

"I feel great,” said Machac. "First set he was better, second set I found my rhythm. In the third set I was playing unbelievable so I’m super-happy with my performance.” Machac’s quarter-final opponent will be American Alex Michelsen, who beat Australia’s Christopher O’Connell 6-1, 6-4.

Japan’s Kei Nishikori also reached the quarter-finals with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Australia’s Jordan Thompson. Nishikori, 34, has been plagued by injuries and he returned to Grand Slam competition at the French Open in May after an absence of almost three years. He was in inspired form as he beat Thompson in 1hr 22min, but he refused to get carried away with his performance. "It’s just one match, I can’t let my guard down,” said Nishikori. — AFP