Wang Qiang of China competes during the women's singles third round match against Karolina Pliskova of Czech Republic at China Open tennis tournament in Beijing, China, Oct. 4, 2018. Wang Qiang won 2-0. (Xinhua/Jia Haocheng)
BEIJING, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- China's Wang Qiang moved into the quarterfinal of the China Open after she beat Czech Republic's Karolina Pliskova 6-4, 6-4.
At one point in the second set, Wang was down 1-4, but she managed to rally and win five consecutive games to close out the set.
"I didn't really think [about it] too much. I was down 1-4. I had to forgive myself. If you don't forgive yourself, you're going to make more mistakes," Wang said.
Wang will be joining compatriot Zhang Shuai in the last eight of the tournament. Both players have singled out the crowd on centre court for praise following their performances.
"With so many people cheering for you, I'm not fighting only for myself, I'm fighting for everyone. This is highly related to the support of the fans," Wang said.
It's a huge turnaround for the young Chinese player after she retired from her semifinal match against Anett Kontaveit at the Wuhan Open.
While Wang said that she feels "almost recovered" from that injury, she is taking no chances heading into the business-end of this tournament.
"Well, honestly speaking, I'm not really playing my best. I've been taking a few days off. I couldn't really play my best tennis. But I'm a little bit better than her [Pliskova] today. That is why I won the match."
Wang will face the Wuhan Open champion Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinal.
