MADRID, April 24 (Xinhua) -- There was mixed fortune for the two Chinese players in action in the last 64 of the Madrid Open on Friday.Thirty-second seed Zheng Qinwen recovered from a poor start to beat American Sofia Kenin 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 and reach the last 32. Zheng took every break point she created and showed strong character to recover after losing seven games in a row across the first set and the start of the second.By contrast, Zhang Shuai never found her rhythm in a 6-3, 6-1 defeat to Austria's Anastasia Potapova, who dominated on return. Zhang had originally been due to face 16th seed Madison Keys, but the American withdrew through illness less than an hour before the scheduled start, with Potapova entering as a lucky loser.Second seed Elena Rybakina was below her best and had to battle through three sets before finally edging Elena-Gabriela Ruse to reach the last 32 with a hard-fought 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory. The recent Stuttgart champion will face Zheng in the next round.In the men's draw, top seed and world No. 1 Jannik Sinner dropped the opening set against France's Benjamin Bonzi in a tiebreak, but hit back to win 6-7(8), 6-1, 6-4. After cruising through the second set, Sinner was again pushed hard in the third before sealing his place in the next round.On Thursday, Spain's Carlos Alcaraz announced that he will miss this year's French Open due to the wrist injury that has already ruled him out in Madrid.

ATHENS, April 25 (Xinhua) -- The Angelokastro archaeological project under the Chinese School of Classical Studies at Athens was officially launched here on Friday, marking the first archaeological collaboration project launched by the institute since its founding.Located in western Greece, the Angelokastro project also marks the first time that Chinese archaeologists, together with scholars from non-Western countries, have participated in leading roles of an excavation project in a core region of Western civilization.The project is jointly carried out by the Greek Ministry of Culture's General Directorate of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage, the Ephorate of Antiquities of Aetolia-Acarnania and Lefkada, and the Chinese School of Classical Studies at Athens.Constantina Benissi, head of the Department for the Supervision of Greek and Foreign Scientific Institutions and the Coordination of International Cooperation and Organizations at the Greek Ministry of Culture, said at the launch ceremony that the project is an important part of systematic cooperation between the ministry and the Chinese School of Classical Studies at Athens, adding that it has been approved as part of a five-year joint archaeological program.Founded in November 2024, the Chinese School of Classical Studies at Athens is the first research institute of classical civilizations established in Greece by an Asian country. It aims to promote in-depth studies by Chinese scholars of Greek civilization and other world civilizations, and to strengthen academic exchanges, collaboration and talent development between Chinese, Greek, European and global research institutions in the fields of archaeology and civilization studies.

BEIJING, April 25 (Xinhua) -- Cost and safety have become comparative advantages for China in attracting international students, according to a report released by Xinhua Institute, a think tank affiliated with Xinhua News Agency, on Saturday.The report, titled Study in China: Contributing to the Building of a Community with a Shared Future for Humanity, noted that China's competitive edge as a global education hub is becoming increasingly pronounced.Currently, as the global standing and academic quality of Chinese universities ascend to the vanguard of international rankings, the overseas expansion of Chinese enterprises is creating abundant career opportunities for international students returning home, it said.Moreover, the fiscal advantage of studying in China is substantial, with costs totaling less than one-third of those in Europe or the United States. When coupled with China's status as one of the world's most stable and secure nations and its commitment to a hospitable environment, these combined factors significantly enhance the global appeal and prestige of the Study in China brand, the report found.