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Zheng Saisai of China hits a return during the women's singles first round match against Kristina Mladenovic of France at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells, the United States, on March 7, 2019. Zheng Saisai lost 0-2. (Xinhua/Zhao Hanrong)

WASHINGTON, March 7 (Xinhua) -- China's Zheng Saisai lost to Kristina Mladenovic of France in the first round of the BNP Paribas Open held in Indian Wells, California on Thursday.

Zheng, ranked 39th in the world, played some solid tennis in the opening set before losing at 7-5, 6-2 in one hour and 34 minutes.

The Chinese player almost took the first set in a tight tenth game, holding two set points on the former world No. 10's serve.

"There were ups and downs in the first set. I had some momentum where I was executing perfectly and things seemed easy. Other moments, I was rushing too much and making mistakes. I had a few bad volleys that cost me a break back, but I kept fighting, executing the plan," said Mladenovic.

"I had two set points to save because I was thinking about how, if I didn't make them, I'd be one set down, so I played two really good points, managing well and playing bravely on the second set point in particular. I was just fighting in the first set to find that balance between being aggressive and not rushing too much."

Coming up next for the Frenchwoman will be world No. 1 and defending BNP Paribas Open champion Naomi Osaka of Japan.