Zheng Qinwen ended the 2022 season and is looking forward to reaching new heights in 2023.
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On November 11, at 10 p.m., the World Group play-offs of the Billy Jane Gold Cup (formerly the Confederations Cup) began. The Chinese team led by Hubei girl Zheng Qinwen visited Slovenia, after two days of fierce battle, although the Chinese team finally lost to the host team with a score of 1:3 and did not have the opportunity to advance to the world group, this time Zheng Qinwen put on a robe embroidered with a five-star red flag for the first time to fight for the country, and also accumulated conditions for entering the 2024 Olympic Games.
At this point, Cheng Qinwen has completed all the matches of the 2022 season, and then she will return to Spain to rest and adjust, and concentrate on preparing for the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the new year. In 2023, she will also challenge for gold at the Asian Games.
■ The national team made its debut and won
On November 11, Zheng Qinwen appeared as the first singles of the Chinese team. Although he encountered stubborn resistance from his opponent in the match, Zheng Qinwen withstood the pressure and finally won 7:6 (4); Defeating his opponent 6-3 to grab the opening for the Chinese team and making his national team debut exciting enough.
The opponent of this match is Potochinik ranked 270th in the world, which is far from Zheng Qinwen in terms of ranking alone, but the process of the match is not as one-sided as expected. In the first set, the two sides fought a game of serve, and in the first 12 games, neither of them could break their opponent's serve, and the battle was 6-6, and they had to enter the tie-break. In the Seven Games, the two sides fought until 4:4 to divide the winner and loser. At the crucial moment, the highly skilled Zheng Qinwen scored 3 consecutive points to win the game.
At the beginning of the second set, the situation was still glued. Zheng Qinwen, who gradually adapted to his opponent's path of the ball, finally broke serve in the sixth game and completely changed the direction of the game. In the end, Zheng Qinwen won the first point for the Chinese team at 6:3 and scored the first point for the Chinese team 2:0.
■ Second appearance reversed
The tournament will be held on an indoor clay court in the northern Slovenian city of Vélenje. The tournament was played in a best-of-five format, with a total of four singles and one doubles match. The winner of the play-offs goes to the World Group and the loser returns to the Zone Group. The Chinese team consisted of Zheng Qinwen and Wang Xinyu in singles, and Wang Xiyu/Yuan Yue in doubles. The opponents' first and second singles were Juvan and Potočnik, respectively, with Yuwan ranked 88th in the world.
On the evening of the 11th, another Chinese teenager who appeared after Zheng Qinwen, Wang Xinyu, failed to withstand the onslaught of Slovenia's number one player Juvan and lost 0:2. The pressure is back on the Chinese side again. On the 12th, Zheng Qinwen made his second appearance, facing Yuwan, who had a good record on the clay court, Zheng Qinwen quickly entered the form and won the first set 6:2. In the second set, the two sides fought until they were tied to seven, and although Zheng Qinwen, who was too physically exhausted, defused his opponent's four sets, he still lost 6-8. In the tiebreaker, there were several controversial penalties on the court, because the Hawkeye device was not installed on the scene, and the penalty could not be changed. This greatly affected Zheng Qinwen's mood, and finally lost the third set 3:6, and was reversed by his opponent 1:2.
After Zheng Qinwen, the Chinese team sent the young general Wang Xiyu to play, but Wang Xiyu faced Potochnik and lost 3:6 and 2:6. So far, the Chinese women's tennis lost 1:3 to Slovenia and did not qualify for the world group.
■ Expected to be in the Olympic Games
This competition is Zheng Qinwen's first appearance on the world stage as a member of the Chinese national team. This is a milestone for Zheng Qinwen and for tennis in Hubei and Wuhan. In the 2022 season, Zheng Qinwen has achieved a breakthrough more than once, and this competition is another "dream realization moment" for her.
Participating in the Billy Jane Gold Cup is also an important step for Cheng Qinwen to the Olympic Games. Because according to the relevant rules, tennis players must meet two conditions to participate in the Olympic Games: one is that they are ranked within the top 50 in the world, and the other is to represent their country in more than two Billy Jane Gold Cups, which is one of the reasons why many well-known tennis players have never participated in the Olympic Games. Zheng Qinwen is currently ranked 26th in the world, and the first condition has been unlocked. This time to represent the Chinese team in the Billy Jane Gold Cup, the second condition has been unlocked by half - play another session next year, and you can directly enter the Olympic Games in 2024.
In 2022, Zheng Qinwen's battle for fame is to reach the round of 16 at the French Open. Two years later, the Olympic Games happened to be played at the Roland Garros tennis court at the French Open, which also made fans look forward to her Olympic journey.
■ Hometown fathers and elders help from the air
Zheng Qinwen, who fought for the country for the first time, also touched the hearts of the people in his hometown. On the evening of the 11th, the Municipal Sports Bureau invited Zheng Qinwen's father Zheng Jianping to watch Zheng Qinwen's game together in the conference room on the third floor of the Municipal Table Feather Net Center. In July this year, it was in the same place that the Municipal Sports Bureau, the Municipal Table Tennis Network Center and Zheng Qinwen officially signed the "Climbing Agreement".
Before the start of the competition, Zheng Jianping analyzed that the level of European tennis is generally high, and many female players have comprehensive skills and solid basic skills. Although the opponent Potochnik is only ranked 270th in the world, it must not be taken lightly. Previously, he repeatedly reminded his daughter not to "carelessly lose Jingzhou".
The course of the game confirmed Zheng Jianping's fears, Potochnik is full of physical strength, flexible running, quite tenacious defense, plus she is obviously more comfortable with the field when playing at home. Although Zheng Qinwen took the initiative on the scene, it was very difficult to really get a point. The second set lasted until the sixth game that Zheng Qinwen broke serve for the first time. Only at this time did Zheng Jianping take a breath and say, "Okay." This kind of contest, as long as it breaks once, is enough to crush the opponent. Sure enough, in the following match, the opponent was no longer able to resist, and soon the gun was won 3:6.
Regarding Zheng Qinwen's national team debut, Zheng Jianping commented: "The first time she played for the national honor, Zheng Qinwen was a little nervous, and the psychological pressure was also a little great, plus she hadn't played on clay for a long time before, and she was at someone else's home field, she didn't play at her full level. Overall, I feel that she fought a little urgently today, and she always wanted to solve the battle with one shot, so there were a lot of active mistakes. Most of the points lost today are unforced mistakes, and there are not many direct points for opponents. ”
During the performance of the national anthem before the game, Zheng Qinwen, who had the national flag embroidered on his chest, could be seen moist in his eyes. Zheng Jianping confessed that his mood was as excited as his daughter. "Zheng Qinwen has had a dream of fighting for the country since he was a child, and today it has finally come true. It is a responsibility and a supreme honor to represent our country. ”
The relevant person in charge of the Municipal Table Tennis Network Center expressed his respect for Zheng Qinwen's participation in the Chinese team. He said that there are no points and no prizes for participating in the Billy Jane Gold Cup, and the motivation of the participants is the sense of honor and mission to win glory for the country. "Zheng Qinwen represented China for the first time today, and she herself is still very spirited and fully shows her strength on the field. Today she was the first to play and came out victorious, taking the pressure off her teammates who came out later. We look forward to and wish her further on this path. ”
(Yangtze River Daily reporter Zhang Lin)
Source: Yangtze River Daily