At the second round of the women's singles, Zheng lost to Pauline Parmentier of France 3-6, 4-6, while Zhou was beaten by 18-year-old Laura Robson of Britain 4-6, 4-6.

Zheng said she made many mistakes and admitted that her French opponent's serve was too strong.

"This year's major matches finished today so I'd like to take days off," she added.

After defeating Zhou, Robson, whose current ranking is 60, told reporters that Zhou's play was aggressive and much tougher than she thought, stressing she was dissatisfied with her own performance. The British player will faces Chang Kai-Chen from Chinese Taipei in the third round.

The Japan Open, one of the international events in the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) tour and sponsored by Hewlett-Packard Japan, was held for the fourth time in Utsubo Tennis Center in the western Japanese city of Osaka, featuring outstanding players from 25 countries and regions around the world.