Zheng rallies past Anisimova for Beijing quarterfinal spot

For the second time in the span of six weeks on Wednesday at the China Open, Zheng Qinwen lost the first set against Amanda Anisimova -- but just as she did in the first round of the US Open in August, the Olympic gold medalist rallied for victory. 

Beijing: Scores | Order of Play | Draws

Zheng's 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 win over Anisimova, the No.34 seed at the WTA 1000 event, puts her into the last eight in Beijing for the first time, and completes the quarterfinal field. The No.5 seed is through to her eighth quarterfinal of the season, where she will face 17-year-old No.17 seed Mirra Andreeva.

How the match was won: The big-hitting American blitzed the Olympic champion in the first set of their first-round match at the US Open -- a match Zheng eventually won 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 -- and started in similarly strong fashion in the final Round of 16 match on Beijing's Diamond Court by winning the first set's final three games.

Though Zheng hit twice as many winners as Anisimova in the first set -- 12 to six -- the American's clean striking, particularly off the backhand side, forced Zheng into twice as many mistakes as Anisimova. On set point, though, it was the No.34 seed's quick thinking that won out: She showcased soft hands at the net to put away an angled reply from a Zheng return that awkwardly came off the net

But Anisimova could do little to quell the Olympic champion's momentum once she gained it early in the second set. Zheng saved a break point in the first game, and broke Anisimova's for the first time in the second, to take a lead she'd never relinquish for the duration of what was a 2 hour, 22-minute affair in total. 

Anisimova received a medical timeout in between the second and third sets, but continued to compete hard. Four of the eight games in the final frame stretched past deuce, but crucially, three of them went to Zheng. Those included a break of serve in the fifth game that put her up 4-1 (after Anisimova led 40-15), and the match's final game, where Zheng saved three break points before converting her fourth match point.