ROME -- China's Wang Xiyu advanced to her first Round of 16 at a WTA 1000 after defeating Taylor Townsend 6-2, 0-6, 7-5 in the third round of the Internazional BNL d'Italia. Ranked No.75 at the start of the tournament, the 22-year-old came back from a break down in the final set and saved one match point to upend the American and advance. 

Wang will face her countrywoman No.21 Zheng Qinwen for a spot in the biggest quarterfinal of her career. Zheng defeated Anna Bondar 7-6(2), 6-4 to advance to her third WTA 1000 Round of 16 and first on clay. 

Highlights: Q.Zheng d. Bondar | Kalinina d. Kenin

"It was a very tough match," Wang said after the match. "She's a really good player and she has a lot of experience. She's lefty too. Just tried my best and fight every point. I'm also trying to learn from her. It was good, I fought until the end."

Having posted Top 30 wins in back-to-back clay tournaments, defeating Bianca Andreescu in Madrid and Irina-Camelia Begu in the second round of Rome, Wang is in the midst of a breakthrough clay season. Her growing confidence and understanding of the surface were on full display in the first set on Saturday. 

After hiring Nigel Sears, Wang Xiyu eager to learn on the job

A tale of two sets: Wang and Townsend came into their high-stakes encounter having split their two prior meetings, though this would be their first at the Hologic WTA Tour level. In the rainy conditions at the Foro Italico, Wang used her baseline firepower to dominate the opening set.

But as heavier rain came down, Wang began to lose her rhythm on her serve and, subsequently, her groundstrokes. After Townsend successfully held from 0-40 to consolidate her early break and lead 2-0 in the second set, the American raced through the next three games to lead 5-0 and closed out the perfect set when play resumed after a rain delay. 

Turning point: Serving for the win at 5-4 in the third set, Townsend saved two break points before she saw her first match point, but fired a backhand long. Wang took advantage of Townsend's missed opportunity, as she broke serve and held her own serve to lead 6-5. 

Suddenly finding herself behind in the score for the first time since the first set, Townsend buckled. She served a double-fault at 15-30 to give Wang two match points. The Chinese youngster came through on her second chance after Townsend put in one final double-fault to end the 2-hour and 12-minute match.  

Stat of the match: Despite the lopsided second set, Wang put more cumulative return pressure than Townsend. Both players broke a total of five times, but Wang generated 16 break-point chances compared to Townsend's 12. That pressure paid off in the final game. Townsend finished the match with just four double-faults but two of them came in the final game.

Wang's learning process: "First of all, her serve is really good," Wang said. "She's serving so well the wide serve. I think this I really need to learn from her. Also her heavy forehand, she does it really great. She has a complete game. I need to learn to learn from her a lot of things so I think it was a good match. 

Up next: Wang and Zheng faced off in the final of the WTA 125K in Valencia last year. Zheng prevailed in a tight three-setter, winning 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. Monday's meeting will be their first at the Hologic WTA Tour level. 

"She's a great player and she's a really good fighter, so I believe I can learn a lot from this match," Wang said. "It's a challenge. She's really, really great, almost Top 20."

Tough day for follow-up wins: Former No.4 Sofia Kenin could not back up her stunning straight-set victory over No.2 Aryna Sabalenka, bowing out 6-4, 6-2 to No.47 Anhelina Kalinina. The Ukrainian advanced to her second Round of 16 at a WTA 1000 this year. She will face either Victoria Azarenka or Madison Keys next.