Wildcard Zhang wins Guangzhou Open

BEIJING: Chinese wildcard Zhang Shuai overpowered qualifier Vania King of the United States 7-6 (7/1), 6-1 to win the $500,000 WTA Guangzhou Open on Saturday.

Zhang, who had the home crowd firmly behind her, claimed the title in just over 90 minutes to make a nonsense of her lowly world ranking of 112.

King, ranked 124 in the world, more than held her own in the narrow first set that went to tiebreak.

But Zhang rammed home a 7-1 advantage in the tiebreak and then sent King packing in the one-sided second set.

All the seeds went out of the Guangzhou showpiece by the semi-final stage. (AFP)