Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open: Qinwen Zheng impresses in victory over Jelena Ostapenko

Qinwen Zheng demonstrated why she is one of the most exciting young talents on the WTA Tour after an impressive second-round win over fifth seed Jelena Ostapenko at the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open on Wednesday.

Zheng, 20, took a marathon first set following 22-point tiebreak, before easing through the second to claim a 7-6, 6-1 victory in the first match on Stadium Court. The Chinese world No 29 will face either Russian top seed Daria Kasatkina or Switzerland's Jil Teichmann in the quarter-finals.

A competitive first set initially tipped towards Ostapenko, who won the first eight points of the match and held serve a second time for a 3-0 lead. The Latvian maintained her advantage until the seventh game, when Zheng finally broke back on the fourth break point.

The momentum then swung in Zheng's favour with a second break for a 5-4 lead but, as she attempted to serve out the set, Ostapenko pulled level. The set was ultimately decided in an epic tiebreak, Ostapenko missing two chances to close it out, before Zheng took her chance at the fourth opportunity.

The result of the first set seemingly buoyed the victor and deflated the loser as Zheng broke twice to race into a 5-0 lead and served out the victory on her first match point.