Seeded second at the C10 Davos in Switzerland this week, Zhang Ling is ranked at a career-high No. 326 according to the latest Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Singles Rankings. Elsewhere, Jessica Yang, who is competing at the Grade 2 Gerry Weber Junior Open in Germany, has also reached a career-best No. 23 on the ITF World Junior Circuit.
At Davos, No. 2 seed Zhang Ling overcame a momentary lapse of concentration in the second set to beat 15-year-old Swiss qualifier Xenia Knoll, 6-3, 1-6, 6-1, to move into round two where she will face-off with Janina Toljan of Austria (WTA 745) for a place in the quarterfinals.
HKTA Elite Coach, Alistair Todd, reports from Switzerland: "Rain held off for the match but still cold, windy and some light rain. Opponent started off strong, and Lynn kind of had to feel her way into the match. She was actually down 1-3 in the first set but managed to reel off 5 straight games."
"In the 2nd set, her opponent raised her game a bit but Lynn couldn't follow. In the third, Lynn lost her opening service game but broke back to love and then got on top mentally and didn't look back. Good to have a tougher match first up to get some games under the belt and to gain a bit of confidence."
Top seed at the C10 Davos is Michelle Gerards (WTA 288), who was a recent finalist at last week's C10 Lenzerheide.
At Halle, No. 2 seed Jessica Yang defeated local wildcard entry Katharina Holert, 7-6, 6-3, in the first round of the girls' singles. She then followed that up with a straight-set, 6-0, 6-4, victory over Vladislava Kuzmenkova of belarus to move into the quarterfinals.
Top seed at the Gerry Weber Junior Open is Poland's Katarzyna Piter (ITF 18), who was a finalist at last year's Eddie Herr in addition to the recent 44th Astrid Bowl in Charleroi.
Results
US$10,000 ITF Women's Circuit
Davos, Switzerland
16-22 June 2008
WOMEN'S SINGLES
First Round
(2)Zhang Ling (HKG) d. (q)Xenia Knoll (SUI) 6-3 1-6 6-1
Results
9th Gerry Weber Junior Open (G2)
Halle/Westfalen, Germany
17-21 June 2008
GIRLS' SINGLES
First Round
(2)Jessica Yang (HKG) d. (WC)Katharina Holert (GER) 7-6 6-3
Second Round
(2)Jessica Yang (HKG) d. Vladislava Kuzmenkova (BLR) 6-0 6-4