CHINA’S Wang Qiang toppled France No. 1 Kristina Mladenovic 6-1, 6-4 in the round of 16 at the Dubai Tennis Championships on Wednesday.

    Wang, who turned 25 last month, battled for an hour and 21 minutes before seeing off her 31st-ranked opponent in a shocker. More so because Mladenovic had surprised second-seeded Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic on Tuesday. Pliskova was coming off a title victory in Doha, Qatar.

    Wang, ranked 76th in the world, raced to a 4-0 lead and never looked back as the Tianjin-born player took advantage of the sunny conditions in the United Arab Emirates to sweep past her 23-year-old opponent.

    However, Wang’s compatriot Peng Shuai fell to Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova 4-6, 3-6.

    Two Russians lost when No. 8 seed Elena Vesnina was beaten 6-3, 4-6, 6-7 (4) by Croatia’s Ana Konjuh and American Lauren Davis rallied past Ekaterina Makarova 4-6, 6-1, 6-3.

    Ukraine’s No. 7 seed Elina Svitolina, however, reached the quarterfinals with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win over Christina McHale of the United States.(SD-Agencies)