Karaoke-singing Zheng Qinwen beats Mirra Andreeva to win China Open

Zheng Qinwen became the first Chinese woman to win the China Open in Beijing on Sunday, defeating fourth seed Mirra Andreeva 7-5, 6-4. She had entered the event as a wildcard ranked number 54 in the world.

The 24-year-old, who underwent elbow surgery last year, claimed her first WTA 1000 title and the sixth title of her career, ending a two-year drought after a period of struggles with form and fitness. "The feeling was incredible. To win here in Beijing in front of my home crowd is one of my dreams," she said. "I've been through a very, very tough year."

Andreeva started strongly, leading 2-0 in both sets and holding a 5-4 advantage in the first, but Zheng defended three set points and then won the remaining 11 points to take the opener 7-5.

The Russian made more errors as the match progressed; the second set was level at 4-4 before Zheng seized control. A late double fault from Zheng briefly threatened to derail the occasion, but she sealed the victory with an ace.

Zheng collapsed to the court as she secured match point and later treated the raucous home crowd to some karaoke after her victory speech. Andreeva is 19 and was the tournament's fourth seed.

The triumph was Zheng's 14th win against a top-10 opponent and her third such victory this season. Despite losing the final, Andreeva is expected to rise to number three in the world when the rankings are updated on Monday, while Zheng is set to leap 31 places to number 23.