Zheng ended Osaka’s great moment in Rome

China’s Qinwen Zheng ended Japan’s Naomi Osaka’s good run at the WTA 1,000 in Romewhich they beat in the round of 16 easily, 6-2, 6-4.

The Chinese, seventh favorite, She gave no option to Osaka who reached the round of 16 match without dropping a set.with a feeling they could make a splash and reach the quarterfinals.

The hopes of the Japanese, who have now slipped to 173rd place in the rankings, are short-lived. He served three in the first serve and 1 in the second, giving Zheng, who once again had a very solid match, as a tennis player candidate to fight for the title, more than enough margin to miss the his quarter ticket. finals.

In that round a rival awaits, who will appear in the rivalry between Paula Badosa and Coco Gauff.

Madison Keys also sealed her place in the quarterfinals. The American defeated Romanian Sorana Cirstea 6-2, 6-1 in a fight interrupted by an environmental protest by non-violent activists.

Madison Keys, denied in 2024 until the Madrid tournament, where she was a semifinalist, Cirstea was run over in just 1 hour and 5 minutes of an effective game in what was his first victory against the Romanian, number 32.

Beyond the result, where Keys did not drop a serve and broke Cirstea 5 times, the match was marked by a protest by the group ‘Ultima Generazione’, an Italian movement fighting climate change through civil disobedience , Pientrangeli appeared on the court to sit in the middle of the field with an orange vest and threw confetti and paint.

Tournament security ejected them, but the match did not resume until the clay was cleaned.

In the quarterfinals, Keys awaits the winner of the duel between Polish Iga Swiatek, the top favorite, and German Angelique Kerber.