Zhang Shuai said she "felt like Rafa Nadal" after the home player ranked 595th powered into the last 16 to extend her historic China Open run on Sunday. Zhang, who faced Minnen as the lowest-ranked player to reach the China Open third round in the tournament's history,

Zhang Shuai said she “felt like Rafael Nadal” after the home player, ranked 595th powered into the last 16 to extend her historic China Open run

The 35-year-old wildcard had not won a singles match in more than 600 days when she arrived at the prestigious WTA 1000 event in Beijing last week.

China's wild card Zhang Shuai continued her impressive run at the 2024 China Open, defeating Belgium's Greet Minnen 6-2, 6-3 in the third round to secure a place in the women's singles last 16. "Greet and I are actually very good friends.