BEIJING, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- Former world No. 1 Zhu Yuling, now representing Macao, China, emerged victorious 20-18 in a nip-and-tuck second game before pulling off a straight-game win against Bruna Takahashi of Brazil in the women's singles second round at the World Table Tennis (WTT) China Smash on Tuesday.
Zhu, a former member of the Chinese national team, returned to competitive play last year after overcoming her illness. She won the WTT United States Smash in July and now sits seventh in the world rankings.
After her 11-2 win in the first game, Zhu saw several game points slip away in the second, while holding her nerve for a 20-18 victory. The seventh seed met little challenge afterwards, prevailing 11-7 in the third game to secure her berth in the last 16.
"She made adjustments on her serves in the second game, and I was too cautious in dealing with the ball, thus suffering some unforced errors. Trailing 9-4, I thought that game had been lost and actually prepared for the third game," Zhu explained.
"In a match, mentality often trumps technique," she added.
Zhu will next face China's Chen Yi, who went the full distance to get past teammate Qian Tianyi.
"For me, everything will start from zero in the next match. I will adjust myself again, take every day as a new one, and show my best on the court," Zhu said. ■
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