- Jaiswal leads India to remarkable victory in rain-hit Bangladesh Test
- Assange says 'pleaded guilty to journalism' to gain freedom
- China Open history-maker Zhang nearly quit after long losing run
- Rutte dismisses Trump fears as he takes reins at NATO
- 'I pleaded guilty to journalism,' Wikileaks' Assange
- Defence 'geek' Ishiba becomes Japan PM
- Bangladesh crumble for 146, India need 95 to sweep series
- Multiple deaths in school bus fire in Thailand: PM
- Tokyo recovers some losses to lead markets higher
- Coldplay ticket scalping fiasco sparks backlash in India
- Droughts drive Spanish boom in pistachio farming
- Frustrated French clubs turn away players in post-Olympics sports boom
- With bulging in-tray, Ishiba becomes Japan PM
- Tokyo recovers some losses to lead Asian markets higher
- Defiant history-maker Zhang Shuai powers into Beijing last eight
- India police detain top activist after month-long climate march
- Matisse retrospective traces journey through artist's career
- Major League Eating: the sport of stuffing your face
- Sacred filth offers India's sex workers brief respect
- Bloomers and flats: Paris Fashion Week's big trends
- Rural schools empty in North Macedonia due to exodus
- Locals toil as experts toast Turkish wine renaissance
- US dockworkers launch strike after labor contract expires
- Thousands evacuated as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan
- Indian Kashmir votes in final round of regional polls
- Kenya airport whistleblower fears for his life
- Goff perfect as Lions claw Seahawks, Titans sink Dolphins
- Champions League can put Asian women's football on map, say players
- Vinicius taking control as holders Madrid face Lille
- Bologna living the dream with Champions League clash at Liverpool
- Tokyo recovers some losses as most Asian markets rise
- 'Teflon Mark' Rutte to stick to his guns as NATO chief
- Rutte takes reins at NATO as US vote looms
- Australia look to cement dominance in women's T20 World Cup
- Aston Villa target repeat of 1982 Champions League heroics against Bayern
- Rwandan ex-doctor goes on trial in France accused of genocide
- With bulging in-tray, Ishiba to become Japan PM
- Sheinbaum to take office as Mexico's first woman president
- Scientists fear underfunded Argentina research on verge of collapse
- Long-delayed cruise leaves Belfast after four months
- Baseball great Pete Rose dead at 83: team
- Baseball great Pete Rose dead at 83: US media
- Israeli forces start 'targeted ground raids' in south Lebanon
- US port officials gird for strike despite last-minute bargaining
- Braves, Mets split double-header to seal wild card berths
- With 118 dead from Hurricane Helene, Biden defends US government response
- California enacts law to protect brain data
- Breeder who tried to create enormous trophy sheep jailed in US
- Qatar Airways seeking 25% stake in Virgin Australia
- Georgia judge overturns US state's six-week abortion ban
Defiant history-maker Zhang Shuai powers into Beijing last eight
The 595th-ranked Zhang Shuai added another chapter to her renaissance as she rolled into the quarter-finals of her home China Open on Tuesday to make more history.
Zhang's 6-4, 6-2 victory over Magdalena Frech was her fourth win in Beijing and all in straight sets -- having come into the event after losing 24 singles matches in a row.
The barren run lasting more than 600 days was the second-longest on the WTA Tour in the Open Era, which began in 1968.
The 35-year-old Zhang, a former two-time Grand Slam quarter-finalist who has been plagued by injury, again made a nonsense of her ranking against the world number 31 Frech from Poland.
Zhang, a former top-25 player who has won two major doubles titles, will face Spain's 19th-ranked Paula Badosa in the last eight.
The lowest-ranked player to ever reach this stage of the China Open, Zhang raced away with the second set against Frech in front of a packed Beijing crowd on her country's national day.
She had two match points when serving at 5-1. Frech just about held on, but it was only a temporary reprieve.
Zhang struck a defiant pose immediately afterwards, standing still with her arms crossed and beaming.
Badosa dumped out US Open finalist Jessica Pegula in convincing fashion, 6-4, 6-0 to make the second-seeded American the biggest casualty so far.
Pegula came into the WTA 1000 event as one of the form players on tour and having reached the final in New York this month, where she was beaten in straight sets by Aryna Sabalenka.
She was no match though for former world number two Badosa, who blitzed the second set after an even first.
Sabalenka, the top seed in the Chinese capital, plays American 18th seed Madison Keys in the last 16.
Defending champion and world number one Iga Swiatek is not involved because of "personal matters".
C.Meier--BTB