Zheng Qinwen made a convincing start to her Athens Open campaign on Monday, defeating sixth seed Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 7-5, 6-1 to advance to the round of 16.

The unseeded Chinese player struck seven aces, saved six of the seven break points she faced and converted four of her seven opportunities in a match lasting one hour and 49 minutes.

Zheng immediately imposed herself in the contest, breaking the Spaniard early to establish a 3-0 lead. Bouzas Maneiro gradually adjusted to the pace of Zheng's groundstrokes and recovered, pulling level at 5-5.

However, Zheng regained control at the decisive stage of the opening set. After holding serve in the 11th game, she broke Bouzas Maneiro again to take the set 7-5 and shift the momentum firmly in her favor.

The second set was far more one-sided. Zheng survived two lengthy opening games before racing to a 5-0 advantage, using the depth and power of her baseline shots to keep her opponent under sustained pressure.

Bouzas Maneiro finally held serve to avoid the shutout, but Zheng completed the victory on her fourth match point. She broke the Spaniard twice in the second set and lost only one game after securing victory in the closely contested opener.

The result represented a notable ranking upset. Zheng entered the tournament ranked 135th in the world, while Bouzas Maneiro was ranked 62nd.

It also provided a welcome confidence boost to Zheng who suffered first-round exits at both the French Open and Wimbledon. The Chinese lost to Maja Chwalinska at Roland Garros before falling 6-4, 6-4 to Katerina Siniakova at Wimbledon.