On December 30, the Confederations Cup was underway, and the game broke out a big upset. China beat the world's top team 3-0 against the Czech Republic, Zheng Qinwen beat 2023 Wimbledon women's singles champion Vondrousova 2-1 to put in a strong performance, Zhang Zhizhen also stood out, beating top 20 Lehechka 2-1, and Zhang Zhizhen/Zheng Qinwen swept away Lehechka/Vondrousova 2-0 in the mixed doubles.
In 2023, China's men's and women's tennis will make all-round progress and get the opportunity to participate in the Federation Cup for the first time, led by the first brother Zhang Zhizhen and the first sister Zheng Qinwen. In the first match, the Chinese team played against the strong Czech team. The Confederations Cup format is a best-of-3 format for men's singles, women's singles, and mixed doubles.
In the first men's singles match, Zhang Zhizhen faced the Czech star Lehečka. Lehechka has long been among the top players in the world and has the advantage of strength. This is the first game of the Chinese team in the Federation Cup, Zhang Zhizhen started relatively restrained, winning the first game in the first set and losing 3 games in a row, and the score came to 1-3. After timely adjustment, the score was chased to 5-5. At the critical moment, he did not withstand Lehechka's attack and dropped a set 5-7. After timely adjustments, Zhang Zhizhen found his offensive touch, continued to hit beautiful winning points, and finally won two sets in a row 6-3, 6-4, and reversed the big score 2-1 to win the first game of the Chinese team's Confederations Cup.
In the women's singles match, Zheng Qinwen faced world No. 7 and 2023 Wimbledon women's singles champion Vondrousova. It's a real big adjustment, and it's a big battle of offense and defense. Zheng Qinwen's offensive strength is top-notch, and Vondrousova's defense is the top. Zheng Qinwen felt hot, and as soon as he came up, he stunned his opponent with a strong serve and attack, and easily won the first set 6-1. In the second set, Vondrousova rebounded and gained plenty of counter-attack opportunities with her airtight defense to equalize 6-2. In the deciding set, Zheng Qinwen once again found his offensive touch, won 6-1 again, and won 2-1 with a big score to seal the victory for the Chinese team.
In the third inconsequential mixed doubles match, Zhang Zhizhen/Zheng Qinwen, who were working with the mixed doubles for the first time, were in unabated form and played a lot of good shots. Lehechka/Vondrousova were lacking in energy and clearly gave up. In the end, Zhang Zhizhen/Zheng Qinwen won easily 6-1, 6-2 and scored the third point for the Chinese team.
In the end, with the perfect play of Zhang Zhizhen and Zheng Qinwen, the Chinese team defeated the powerful Czech Republic 3-0 and won the first victory in history for the Chinese team. In the second match, China will face Serbia led by Novak Djokovic, and it is expected that they will be able to surprise again.