Chinese tennis ace Zhang Shuai has successfully advanced to the third round of the ongoing 2016 US Open in New York City on Thursday after getting the better of the 16^th-seeded Samantha Stosur of Australia.

Zhang defeated 32-year-old Stosur, who is also her partner in the doubles event, in two straight sets 6-3, 6-3 of their second-round showdown that lasted for an hour, and 10 minutes.

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"Everyone knows we are good friends, we train together a lot of the time. When we came to New York, we practiced together at the same time on this same court," said the 27-year-old native of Tianjin after the match.

The Chinese elite tennis player has said that Stosur was very instrumental in her revitalized tennis career. Zhang said that the 2011 US Open winner convinced her not to quit tennis when they met for a meal in Beijing in 2015. At the time, she was at the 186^th spot in the world rankings, according to Yahoo.

"She helped me a lot last year when I thought about retiring. She told me to keep going and not give up. She tried to help me by playing doubles," Zhang said.

"It's a tough feeling playing her and I feel sad for Sam. She always tries her best, she loves the game. I hope that next time we will meet later in the tournament."

According to EuroSport, Zhang, who is the only Chinese player left in the singles draw, will be facing Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan, who ousted Zhang's compatriot Wang Qiang 6-0 6-1, for a quarterfinals berth.

Shvedova, 28, currently sits at the 52^nd spot in world rankings. She reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon this year.

Tagsus open, Zhang Shuai, Samantha Stosur, Wang Qiang, Yaroslava Shvedova