Despite losing, Wang Xinyu gained valuable experience. Photo: Xinhua News Agency
Beijing News (chief reporter Sun Haiguang) On January 20, the 2022 Australian Open continued to compete in the second round of singles, and China's youngster Wang Xinyu lost 1-2 to No. 2 seed Sabalenka. Although she did not qualify, Wang Xinyu's performance at this year's Australian Open was remarkable, and playing against top players such as Sabalenka was also full of gains.
This season, world number two Sabalenka is in a fluctuating state and his serve is often out of line. In the first three games of the season, Sabalenka's double errors were 18, 21 and 12, respectively.
Against Wang Xinyu today, Sabalenka's serve was still sluggish, and the first set issued a rare 12 double errors. In contrast, Wang Xinyu played more steadily, 6-1 first to the next set. In the next two sets, Sabalenka's form quickly recovered, and despite issuing another 7 double errors, he still reversed Wang Xinyu 6-4, 6-2.
'I've had a lot of experience playing in case of a failed serve and I've always told myself that even if you don't serve, you still have a chance to win the game. Sabalenka said after the game that it was this mentality that allowed her to continue to play and gradually regain the feeling of serving. In the third round, Sabalenka will face 31st seed Vandrosova, who won 2-0 against Samsova.
Wang Xinyu's performance is remarkable. Photo: Xinhua News Agency
Although he did not qualify, it was a good professional experience for Wang Xinyu to play against top players like Sabalenka. After passing the first round, Wang Xinyu looked forward to passing with Sabalenka, "Everyone said that her ball is fast, and I would like to play with her once and experience what it feels like." In this game, Wang Xinyu's performance was remarkable, with a total score (84 points) even one point more than Sabalenka, and 16 fewer unforced errors than her opponent.
This year's Australian Open is Wang Xinyu's fourth grand slam trip in her career, and it is also the first time she has directly entered the main tournament with her ranking. After the first round victory over American player Ang Lee, Wang Xinyu won her first Grand Slam tournament. In an interview during the Australian Open, Wang Xinyu talked about some changes during the winter training, "We trained hand throwing in the winter, so that we can better understand the rotation and landing control of the ball, and also practiced a lot in serving and receiving the ball. ”
In addition, due to Zheng Saisai's withdrawal due to injury, she and Wang Xinyu also withdrew from the women's doubles competition. In this way, Wang Xinyu's Australian Open competition is all over, and the next stop will be to St. Petersburg.
Beijing News reporter Sun Haiguang
Edited by Wang Chunqiu Proofread by Chen Diyan