Chinese teenager Yuan Meng snatched a come-from-behind victory
to advance into the singles main draw of the WTA Pacific Life
Open.
Nineteen-year-old Yuan, the only Chinese woman to reach the
singles third round at this year's Australian Open, beat her rival
from Uzbekistan 4-6, 6-2 and 7-5 in the last round qualifying
match.
Yuan will face Japanese Akiko Morigami in the first round.
Yuan's entry to the main draw has increased the number of
Chinese players in the singles competition to six.
In the doubles pool, Australian Open champion and fourth-seeded
Zheng Jie and Yan Zi will take on Shinobu Asagoe of Japan and Lisa
McShea of Australia.
China's Olympic champion Li Ting and Sun Tiantian, eighth seed
in the tournament, face American duo Laura Granville and Nicole
Pratt.
(CRI English March 9, 2006)