China’s Qinwen Zheng, coached by Spain’s Pere Riba, woke Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska, who had qualified from the qualifying phase, from her sleep in the semi-finals of the Australian Open (6-4 and 6-4) to reach her first grand slam final ‘-contest.
Zheng, who became the second Chinese tennis player after Li Na to reach the final at Melbourne Park, will face Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka (No. 2) in the grand final, in what will be their first match since the competition began against a ranked player. in the top 50.
The Asian established herself at the top of the WTA rankings after completing a creditable quarter-final at the previous United States Open, where she fell to her rival, Belarusian Sabalenka, in Saturday’s final.
“It was incredible. I’m very excited about my performance and about being in the final. It’s very difficult to explain what I feel,” she said after wrapping up the match after one hour and 42 minutes.
“We worked very hard. Many thanks to my team, without you I could not have done this,” he said with a smile from ear to ear, addressed to his team, led by Catalan Pere Riba.
Zheng received the support of hundreds of Chinese fans who decided to watch the match given the possibility that the 21-year-old girl would repeat the feat achieved by her compatriot Li Na in 2014 by taking the title at Melbourne Park.
Melbourne’s Chinese community represents 8.3% of the total population, including Australians of Chinese descent, and Chinese businesses dominate in the city centre, where the Asian population is the majority.
As for the match, Zheng once again showed unwavering concentration, which was not even interrupted by the long medical treatment that his rival Yastremska received due to discomfort in the abdominal area.
Zheng finished the first set (6-4) with worse numbers than the Ukrainian, but was more successful in defending the break points she conceded and finished with a creditable five out of six on saved breakballs.
The Chinese finished the first round with eight winners and fifteen unforced errors, while the Ukrainian collected eleven winners and twelve unforced errors.
Equality was also the protagonist of a second set in which the Chinese scored a break in the final stretch to establish a 5-3 in their favor, which would lead to the final 6-4.
Zheng, the tennis player with the most direct serve in the tournament, finished the match with 75% of the points with firsts, 14 winners and 19 unforced errors.
Source: El heraldo
I’m George Gonzalez, a professional journalist and author at The Nation View. With more than 5 years of experience in the field, I specialize in covering sports news for various print media outlets. My passion for writing has enabled me to craft stories that capture the attention of readers all over the world.
