In the 2023 WTA500 Abu Dhabi Women's Singles Semifinals, which ended in the early morning of February 12, Beijing time, China's Zheng Qinwen lost 1-2 to Samsonova, the No. 8 seed and world No. 19, in three sets, and missed the final. The 3-set score was 4-6, 6-1, 4-6.
In this competition, Zheng Qinwen showed excellent form. She has won three games in a row, including the fifth seed and former French Open champion Ostapenko and the top seed and Russian star Kasakina.
Facing another Russian fan, Zheng Qinwen had a poor start in the first set, and in the third game she saved serve points several times, but she was eventually broken. After that, the two sides guaranteed each other's serves, and Zheng Qinwen lost a set 4-6. In the second set, Zheng Qinwen quickly improved his form, breaking his opponent's serve in the second game. In the third game, she saved the break point and broke again in the fourth game, and after winning the fifth game, she led 5-0 and finally won the second set 6-1.
In the crucial tiebreaker, the two sides fought fiercely. In the first 9 games, both sides held serve, but in the 10th game, Zheng Qinwen's serve was finally broken under great pressure from his opponent, Zheng Qinwen lost the third set 4-6, lost to Samsonova 1-2, and stopped the semifinals in Abu Dhabi. This is the second time Cheng has lost to his opponent after the final of the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo last September.
Despite missing the final, Zheng Qinwen still received 185 points and 43,323 US dollars (about 300,000 yuan) in prize money, and immediately rose to 24th place, setting a new personal high. With a slight tweak, Cheng will be engaged in the WTA500 Doha competition that begins next week. Cheng will face the tournament's No. 5 seed and Greece's Sakkari in the first round.