Chinese tennis ace Zhang Shuai outlasted the first and second set scare from local wildcard Eri Hozumi of Japan to escape with a 7-6, 1-6, 6-3 triumph at the ongoing Hashimoto Sogyo Japan Women's Tennis Open 2016 on Monday at the Utsubo Tennis Center in Osaka, Japan.

Zhang found her range in the right moment of time to navigate her way into the next round of the tennis event.

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According to Yahoo Sports, Hozumi broke in the fifth and seventh games to establish an early 5-2 advantage in the opening set, but Zhang fought back with two breaks to push the set to a tiebreak. Zhang, who is fresh coming from a third round finish at the recently concluded 2016 US Open, prevailed over Hozumi and captured the first set.

In the second set, Hozumi controlled the game and went on to take the second set to force a third and deciding set.

With the momentum on her side, Zhang retaliated and imposed her dominance over the Japanese to wrap up the game with the win.

In the other matches of the day, fifth seed Madison Brengle of the United States crashed out with a 6-1, 6-4 loss to Jana Cepelova of Slovakia to become the biggest casualty of the opening day's play. Ukraine's Kateryna Bondarenko, the tourney's eighth-seeded player, also made an early exit after bowing out to the American Louisa Chirico in a 6-4, 7-5 defeat, according to SuperSport.

TagsJapan Women's Tennis Open 2016, wta, wta rankings, Zhang Shuai, eri hozumi