After playing the WTA year-end finals with Stosur, Zhang Shuai, a sister of China's Jinhua, concentrated on singles and practiced instead of racing.
This year's doubles performances were outstanding — the WTA 1000 Cincinnati Women's Doubles Title, the U.S. Open title, and the WTA Year-End Finals Women's Doubles Ticket are some of the proud results of her career. Instead, in terms of singles, she struggled and didn't get the results she wanted. Her singles record on the WTA Tour this season is only 15 wins and 24 losses (excluding ITF and Angers), and one round trip is even more common, with Nottingham being the only tour she has reached the final this season.
Some people may say that Zhang Shuai's singles have encountered a bottleneck and have reached the upper limit, suggesting that she concentrate on doubles. But her world ranking is enough to compete on the WTA Tour, how can she give up? She has always been a player who fights on two fronts, and she has an even more precious mental quality – never giving up and trying to break through, even though she is not a talented player.
Just now, Zhang Shuai broke into the final of Angers, which is her second time in the final this season, and her instant ranking returns to 59th!
In the semi-finals of Angers, Zhang Shuai defeated Yuan Yue, who broke through in the qualifying round, 6-0, ending the opponent's ten-game winning streak and ending this year's three-game losing streak against his compatriots. The latter performed well, fighting with injuries, reaching the top 200 in the world rankings, and successfully locking in a qualifying spot at the Australian Open.
This is the fourth time zhang shuai has played against his compatriots this season, as follows:
WTA250 Tenerife R32:2-6, 1-6 defeated Wang Xinyu
WTA250 Courmayeur R16:6-7 (5), 4-6 lost to Wang Xinyu
ITF Dubai R16:7-6 (5), 1-6, 4-6 lost to Cheng Chin-wen
WTA125 Angers SF: 6-4, 6-0 win over Yuan Yue
Wang Xinyu, Zheng Qinwen and Yuan Yue are all newcomers to China and the hope for the future of China Women's Network. Zhang Shuai, who won the First China Derby, will face Russian veteran Diatchenko in the final in Angers, who is 166th.
Somewhat interestingly, Zhang Shuai issued five ACEs in the 1/4 final of Angers, swept Mladenovic 6-3, 6-2, rewriting the record of the two sides to 3-4, realizing that they had played in ITF, 125K, 250, 500 and 1000 matches, except that they had not met in the Grand Slam arena.
Zhang Shuai, who did not choose a two-line battle this time, finally found the feel of singles and strived for the singles championship, although this is only a low-level game, but this is also a professional game, and winning the championship will re-enhance the confidence of the players, which will help the players to start a new season.
Of course, if Zhang Shuai is not defeated by Diatchenkokuya, it will not hit her combat effectiveness, but we really hope that she can win the singles championship again, after all, her world ranking is much higher than Thatchenko. Zhang Shuai, come on! (Source: Tennis On occasion Author: Stray Rabbit)
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