China’s Zheng Qinwen stuns top seed Iga Swiatek to reach Olympic tennis final
Sign up now: Get the biggest sports news in your inbox
China's Zheng Qinwen was overwhelmed by emotions after beating Iga Swiatek to become the first Chinese to reach an Olympic tennis singles final.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
Follow topic:
PARIS – Overwhelmed by emotions, she fell to the ground of Court Philippe-Chatrier flat on her back, before letting out a scream into the arena with both her fists tightly clenched and arms raised in jubilation.
That was how China’s Zheng Qinwen reacted when she stunned Poland’s world No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the Paris Olympics singles semi-finals at Roland Garros on Aug 1 – raw, explosive, history-making.
Swiatek, who was the overwhelming favourite for tennis gold after claiming a third successive French Open title this season at the same venue, was outplayed by the sixth seed, losing 6-2, 7-5.
In snapping her opponent’s 25-match winning streak at Roland Garros, world No. 7 Zheng also became the first Chinese player to reach the singles final at an Olympic tournament.
“I feel more than just happy – happy isn’t enough to describe how I feel,” said the 21-year-old, who had played back-to-back three-hour matches to make the semi-final.
“If you ask me to play another three hours for my country, I would. Everyone knows how I want to get this medal for my country. So you cannot imagine how much pressure I had... especially after eight hours on court in three days, beating the world No. 1.
“It’s unbelievable but it makes my journey more meaningful because I always wanted to play the best players and beat them. That’s what I want to show for my tennis. To beat Iga is not easy.”
By making the final, Zheng has surpassed her idol and compatriot, bettering the run of two-time Grand Slam champion Li Na, who finished fourth at Beijing in 2008.
The Chinese is a rising star after making it to the Australian Open final this season, but to beat such a big-name player in Swiatek, on clay no less, has made her run all the more remarkable.
Zheng will face either Slovakia’s Anna Karolina Schmiedlova or Croatia’s Donna Vekic for the gold, while Swiatek will have to console herself with a shot at a bronze medal.
With so many big names missing from the Olympic singles and with several seeds having already fallen, Swiatek had looked set to add the Olympic gold to her five Grand Slam titles. She had held a 6-0 career record against Zheng, but the 23-year-old, known as the “Queen of Clay”, was way below her best, spraying unforced errors all over the court – 36 in total.
The Pole was never in the opening set as she looked uncomfortable in the hot and humid conditions. After a bathroom break to reset, she seemed to have regained control in the second set as she went 4-0 ahead. But it proved a false dawn as the errors returned and her opponent took full advantage to claw her way back.
Swiatek then dropped serve at 5-5 and Zheng kept cool as she served for victory – banging a first serve onto the line on match point that her opponent thought had landed out.
A quick check from the umpire confirmed Swiatek’s fate.
In the men’s singles, Spain’s world No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz moved into the semi-finals after seeing off 13th-ranked Tommy Paul of the United States 6-3, 7-6 (9-7).
He will next face either Norway’s Casper Ruud or Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada. REUTERS, AFP
