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Zheng feeling the love in Paris but wary of 'hungry' Mboko / Photo: © AFP
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Zheng feeling the love in Paris but wary of 'hungry' Mboko
China's Zheng Qinwen said Wednesday she was feeling the love of the Paris crowd where she won Olympic gold last year but is wary of Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko who now awaits in the third round of the French Open.
The 22-year-old Zheng dispatched Colombia's Emiliana Arango 6-2, 6-3 in the second round with 18-year-old Mboko easing past Germany's Eva Lys 6-4, 6-4 in the French capital.
The Chinese eighth seed has won eight straight matches on the red clay of Roland Garros after her run to Olympic gold last year.
"Of course after the Olympic Games, there is more French fans they know about me. If I don't play with a French player, of course they're going to support me," Zheng told journalists.
"I'm happy to get liked by the crowd, because always when the crowd is with you, of course you feel more energy, you can get more inspired from the crowd. You can get more motivation from them."
Overall, Zheng was happy with her performance against 85th-ranked Arango despite dropping serve three times and hitting four double faults, sealing victory on her third match point after one hour 37 minutes.
"I think today (my) performance (was) really good," she said.
"In the last year, the Olympic Games gives me a lot of strength. And also me, I got a lot of inspiration from the win.
"I know what I'm capable of through many fights."
As for 120th-ranked Mboko, Zheng is unsure what to expect, as she targets a run to her first Grand Slam title.
"She's quite young, so we don't get many information from her, of course," said Zheng.
"Every time I see a young player coming, they have a lot of hunger, for sure.
"They fight a lot, for sure, because it's their dream place. But same as me, it's my dream place too.
"When you arrive in the professional tour, you don't think about anymore about the age because everybody's the same. You just face another opponent.
"Doesn't matter for me. If is world No. 1, whether it's 100, doesn't matter the age."
Meanwhile Mboko, who reached her first WTA 125 final in Parma earlier this month, has improved her season record to a remarkable 42-5 across all levels.
"She's top 10 (Zheng), so that's, like, already a big thing overall," said the US-born Canadian.
"I mean, she's beaten so many great players. I'm expecting a big fight. I'm going to bring out a big fight against her. Yeah, I think it's going to be a very hard battle for me."
B.Michalski--GL
