China’s Wang Qiang made a sensational run after storming into the last 32 in the ongoing French Open at Roland Garros. From a Chinese perspective, Wang Qiang’s performance on the red clay highlighted the tournament as the 26-year-old reached the third round at a Grand Slam for the first time in her career.

As the most successful Chinese women's player, out of six, at the tournament, Wang's victory over Venus Williams in the opening stage will live long in China's tennis fans' memories and in a telephonic interview to Sports Scene Wang Qiang said, “When I saw that I would play against Venus, I couldn't think that I would win because I had lost to her twice. But actually, when I stood on the court, I told myself that I should try my best and incorporate everything I learned in practice.”

“I was really happy when I earned the victory. This was not just because I beat Venus, but also because I did everything that my coach taught me, and I made it happen by training hard every day. I thought I could go further after winning the match against Venus, and I continued my success by reaching the third round.” 

“But I lost that match when I ran out of energy. I regret that very much, and I will learn from this experience, and look forward to the rest of this season, as well as next year,” she added. 

The World No. 78 also outclassed Petra Martic before being ousted by Irina-Camelia Begu. “Overall, I played well at the French Open, because I showed everything to the best of my ability, when I competed in the first two rounds. I was brave, but I should have been even braver. I hope I can reach top 30 in the world rankings this year, and I will keep trying to do my best.” 

Her compatriot, Peng Shuai, could only reach the second round and was defeated by Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia after showing early promise in getting past Serbia's Aleksandra Krunic to end a run of three years without a win on clay. Also, Zhang Shuai also lost out in the second phase after biting the dust in straight sets against Begu.