China's Zheng Qinwen reacts on a match point against her compatriot Wang Yafan during their women's singles match on day seven of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on Jan 20, 2024. (PHOTO / AFP)

MELBOURNE - China's Zheng Qinwen moved into the round of 16 of the Australian Open for the first time on Saturday after edging out compatriot Wang Yafan with a 6-4 2-6 7-6 (8) win. 

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12th-seeded Zheng faced a daring challenge from Wang, ranked No 94, who forced Zheng to a decider after the two reached a tie in the first two sets.

Zheng led set three 4-2, but Wang fought back to tie things up at 6-6.

Zheng Qinwen of China plays a backhand return to compatriot Wang Yafan during their third round match at the Australian Open tennis championships at Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, Jan 20, 2024. (PHOTO / AP)

In the final moments of the match with a race to 10, Zheng earned two match points to lead 9-7. Wang saved the first match point but lost the second with a backhand forced error.

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"(In) the third set, everybody is fighting, so just point by point”, Zheng said after clinching victory in two hours and 40 minutes.

"We had a really difficult tiebreak. That was amazing to win the match like that”, she said.

Zheng will play France's Oceane Dodin in the next round.