BEIJING, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Top-seeded men's player Jannik Sinner and women's player Iga Swiatek both sailed into the singles third round at the 2025 China Open here on Saturday, while home favorite Zheng Qinwen came back from surgery to beat Colombia's Emiliana Arango.

Italian star Sinner secured a three-set win 6-4, 5-7, 6-0 against French qualifier Terence Atmane in the second round. 23-year-old Atmane had 11 aces in the match, but was not enough to stop Sinner from clinching the victory.

"It was a very difficult challenge today," Sinner said after the match. "He [Atmane] for sure carried a lot of confidence in the third set. I managed to play a great first game to break him, which then gave me the confidence to somehow manage the set. After the double break, it was a bit different. The atmosphere went done."

Swiatek had a more comfortable victory in her debut at this year's China Open after a first-round bye, easing past China's Yuan Yue 6-0, 6-3 in the second round.

"The first match is always good to experience and feel the court. I need to be ready for every match. I am really just trying to learn new skills and focus on improving my game," said the 24-year-old Pole.

Yuan, 27, managed to regain some form in the second set, but still failed to overturn the momentum. She said, "It was too loud in my mind, but I felt much better in the second set. I told myself, if you miss a ball, just miss a ball, not because she [Swiatek] is the top seed, or she plays great, just focus on what it actually is."

Chinese favorite and Paris Olympic champion Zheng, who recently underwent elbow surgery, made a highly anticipated return. Amid enthusiastic cheers, Zheng defeated Arango 6-3, 6-2 to progress to the women's singles third round.

Reflecting on the past over two months, Zheng said, "The recovery process was very long. I learned Spanish, read books, and took classes. I felt relaxed without pressure from matches. I received many encouraging words from our fans."

"China Open wasn't in our plan, because I wasn't at 100 percent. But of course, I miss the competitions and everyone here on the court. I just enjoy again playing tennis in a big stadium," Zheng added. "I am satisfied with my baseline returns today, but I still need to make improvement on my serves. I am trying to be more aggressive than before and make progress step by step."

The seventh seed will face Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic in the next round, who defeated China's Wang Xiyu 6-3, 6-2. Chinese player Zhu Lin lost to fourth seed Mirra Andreeva of Russia 6-2, 6-2.

Also on Saturday, the third-seeded pair Veronika Kudermetova of Russia and Elise Mertens of Belgium defeated the Chinese pair Tang Qianhui and Wang Xiyu 6-2, 4-6, 10-5. Hsieh Su-Wei of Chinese Taipei and Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko overcame Chan Hao-Ching of Chinese Taipei and China's Jiang Xinyu 5-7, 6-4, 11-9, while Australia's Priscilla Hon and Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic beat China's Zhang Shuai and Kristina Mladenovic of France 6-3, 6-4.

In the men's doubles, China's Zhang Zhizhen and Shang Juncheng lost to France's Manuel Guinard and Argentina's Guido Andreozzi 6-3, 7-6(6). ■