Chinese players Zheng Jie, Peng Shuai advance into US Open second round

There were no major surprises after the first round on Wednesday, with all seeded players going through to the next stage. There was also good news for Chinese players. Both Peng Shuai and Zheng Jie won their respective opening round matches.

Zheng Jie faced Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany. Zheng held her own in the face of her much higher ranked opponent, thanks in no small part to accurate serving: She made 76% of her 1st serves and won on 84% winning of them. Zheng Jie took the first set 6-3. The second set was pretty much a repeat of the first, final score 6-3 6-2.

Zheng Jie, 21st seed

Zheng Jie, 21st seed, said, "Before the match I know she was good at serving, and was a very attacking player. So before the match I knew I had to pay more attention to serving and receiving. I succeeded in this during the match."

Another Chinese player Peng Shuai also successfully entered the next round, but things weren't quite so easy for her. Peng didn't get off to a great start against her opponent Jarmila Groth of Slovakia, losing her serve in the first game.

But Peng would quickly turn things around and dominate from there. Her strong baseline skills and high-quality serves gave her opponent no chance. She took the first set 6-2. The second set saw Peng hold her nerve and take it 6-3.

Peng Shuai

Peng Shuai said, "I've played her before, so I know her style. I think my performance today was good from the beginning to the end."