Thigh injury ends Zheng's Madrid Open as Sabalenka and Rybakina progress

MADRID - China's number six seed, Zheng Qinwen's adventure in the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament ended prematurely on Friday as she was forced to withdraw from the second set of her second-round match against Yulia Putintseva through an injury to her right thigh.

Zheng gave an interview on Thursday in which she said Madrid was like a second home, but after losing the first set 7-5 to her Kazak rival, she was forced to retire with a physical problem when 2-0 down in the second set.

The Chinese player had struggled with her thigh during the match, looking uncomfortable and getting less than half of her first serves in.

Wang Xinyu is also out of Madrid after losing 6-1, 6-4 to France's 21st seed Caroline Garcia, who gave Wang few options in the opening set. Wang reacted in the second set, but the world No. 42 didn't do enough to take the tie to a third set.

Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka needed three sets to defeat Poland's Magda Linette 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in the second-round while fourth seed, Elena Rybakina continued her winning run of results after the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, with a convincing 6-3, 6-4 win over Lucia Bronzetti, with Rybakina hitting an impressive 26 winners.

Egypt's Mayar Sherif played the best match of her season to defeat 25th seed Marta Kostyuk 6-2, 7-5 and advance to the third round.

In the men's tournament, 19-year-old, Shang Juncheng was beaten by Spain's 27th seeded, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-5, 6-3, putting up a brave resistance to a player who is more experienced on clay courts.

Davidovich Fokina was more aggressive than Shang, hitting 24 winners to just nine to the young Chinese player.

"It was complicated, but the most important thing is that I have got through," said the Spaniard afterwards.

Spain's Carlos Alcaraz returned after missing the Barcelona Open with a forearm injury, with the number two seed brushing past Alexander Shevchenko 6-2, 6-1.