A robust 7-5, 7-5 passage past Italian Stefano Travaglia put the world No.146 a step away from the main draw.

It’s not too surprising the back-to-back NCAA college tennis champion (2024-25) is making in-roads in Paris.

Zheng won three consecutive ATP Challenger titles last season and into 2026 he navigated through three rounds of qualifying at January’s Australian Open. Into the Melbourne main draw and Zheng’s rapid pace and rock solid repertoire helped him topple Sebastian Korda across five sets to mark his Grand Slam debut in style.

“I had a taste of the pro tour and I would just say it’s more just bringing that physicality, that level, week in, week out, and match after match,” stated Zheng, the Wimbledon 2022 boys’ singles finalist.

“You can have good runs here and there, but if you’re not consistent enough, you won’t be able to maintain that level. You have to bring your top level pretty much every week.”

The world No.146’s victory over Travaglia sets up a shot at top seed Jesper de Jong.