Young guns fly the flag in Cincy

Both young and talented, yet hampered by injuries early on, China's Wang Xiyu and Wang Xinyu have justified their major potential with respective breakthrough wins in Cincinnati, the final tuneup ahead of the US Open.

With China's reigning Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen sitting out the tournament due to a prolonged injury layoff, the in-form Wangs have stepped in to represent the country strongly at this week's Cincinnati Open , with their respective career-first, round-of-64 wins at the WTA1000 tournament in Ohio boding well for the major challenge facing them in New York's Flushing Meadows later this month.

Spearheading the Chinese women in the WTA singles rankings at No 36, Wang Xinyu got the Chinese contingent off to a flying start on Sunday, as the all-arounder overcame a first-set scare to outplay Croatia's 31st seed Donna Vekic 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 on Court 10 to reach the third round at the topflight WTA tournament for the first time in her career.

The 24-year-old native of Shenzhen, Guangdong province, will next challenge world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus on Tuesday.

Riding Wang Xinyu's momentum, the 108th-ranked Wang Xiyu, who battled past two qualifying rounds to make it to the main draw, pulled off an identical comeback win on the same court as the hard-hitting left-hander upset Canada's No 30 seed Leylah Fernandez 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 in a gritty effort to also advance into the round of 32 for the first time.

Their resilient performances, particularly their impressive stamina in the scorching heat over three sets, have provided Chinese women's tennis a much-needed boost amid a testing season for ace Zheng, as lingering injury woes forced the former world No 4 to rest her surgically repaired right elbow ahead of the season's final major.

Wang Xinyu, who also had to pull through a series of injury setbacks early in her career, hailed Sunday's tough test as a perfect tune-up for her battle against the mighty Belarusian, and her sixth main-draw campaign in New York.

"It's so exciting that the draw has put me in front of her, because I've wanted to play her again since our previous meeting in Melbourne," Wang Xinyu said of coming up against four-time major winner Sabalenka, who beat her in three sets in the second round of the 2022 Australian Open.

"I am always hoping to measure myself against the No 1, and I will, for sure, prepare to the best of my ability and recover as quickly as I can after this tough match in the heat.

"As difficult as it was, particularly after I lost the first set and got broken first in the second, today's win gave me a lot of encouragement, because I managed to reset myself mentally when I was down and played better, game after game, from there."

Wang Xinyu has reached the round of 16 three times at the majors, her best Grand Slam singles result, while she achieved the highlight of her career in doubles by winning the 2023 French Open trophy alongside Hsieh Su-wei of Chinese Taipei.

"After some ups and downs, I feel like I've found some good form deep into the North American hard-court swing, and, hopefully, it won't be too late," Wang Xinyu said of her expectation for the US Open.

Rising to the elite level of the women's game earlier than her right-handed counterpart, Wang Xiyu, who became China's first girls' major champion at the 2018 US Open, had to wait longer than expected to translate her teen success onto the senior stage, also plagued by multiple physical issues, including right shoulder surgery in October that sidelined her for over half a year.

The 25-year-old former world No 49's improved fitness, and, more importantly, trust in her own body, helped unleash her powerful game facing the agile Fernandez on Sunday, successfully avenging her first-round defeat to the Canadian at the season-opening Hong Kong Open in January.

After struggling with the placement of her shots and dropping the first set, Wang Xiyu regrouped quickly to sharpen her baseline attack, dominating Fernandez with precise and thunderous strikes from both corners to stun the 2021 US Open finalist in a little over two hours.

It served as further encouragement, finding her prime form in time for the US Open, following a deep, round-of-16 run at Roland Garros in May.

"This was a hugely encouraging result for me," said Wang Xiyu, who won her only WTA singles title at the Guangzhou Open in 2023.

"Leylah is a strong opponent who stays consistently within the top 30. So, for me, I just tried to hang in there, be patient and go for every possible chance."

The hard-fought comeback underscores Wang Xiyu's growing adaptability on fast surfaces, a key asset for the upcoming US Open, as well as her improved mental fortitude, which in the past had been criticized by fans following some meltdown losses after falling a set behind.

"I am now just focusing on producing my best effort in every single game, set and match, and progressing one day at a time. Hopefully, I can carry it on," she said.

As well as the right-left singles combo of the two Wangs, Chinese veteran Zhang Shuai was also in action on Sunday, losing out in her singles second-round clash to United States' 28th-seed Ann Li in straight sets.

She'll now switch her focus to the doubles competition in Cincinnati, alongside compatriot Jiang Xinyu, as she looks to build on last Thursday's WTA1000 doubles triumph in Toronto with Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic.