Eighth seed Zheng Qinwen of China secured a hard-fought 6-4, 7-5 victory over New Zealand's Sun Lulu in the third round of the WTA 1000 event at Indian Wells on Sunday, marking her first set of consecutive wins this season and a career-best showing at the tournament.

The match, a rematch of their 2024 Wimbledon first-round clash in which Sun stunned Zheng, saw the Chinese star control key moments despite a tense second-set battle. Zheng overcame a mid-set slump and a 5-5 tie in the second set to seal the victory in one hour and 46 minutes.

"It's tough for me to lose a match, so I remember, and I want to try to fight back. I think that's a good point of me. That's why I try to be better and here I am," Zheng said after the match.

The 22-year-old, who ended a three-match losing streak by defeating former world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 6-3, 6-4, will next face 18th seed Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine.

Another Chinese player, Wang Xinyu, lost to fourth-seeded Jessica Pegula of the United States 6-2, 6-1 in the third round. 

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