On December 31, Beijing time, the Chinese team made another appearance in the tennis United Cup.
Against the strong rival Serbian team, Zhang Zhizhen and Zheng Qinwen of the Chinese team teamed up again, and finally lost 1-2 in the best-of-three game.
Zhang Zhizhen
In the first round of the group stage the day before, the Chinese team and the Czech team met in a narrow way, and in the singles competition, Zhang Zhizhen defeated Czech rising star Lehecka 2-1, and Zheng Qinwen defeated Wimbledon champion Vondrousova 2-1.
In the mixed doubles, Zheng Qinwen/Zhang Zhizhen swept Leheka/Vondrousova 2-0. As a result, the Chinese team defeated the Czech Republic with a score of 3-0 and won the first victory in the United Cup.
With the brilliant performance of Chinese players in the 2023 season, the Chinese team was shortlisted for the United Cup for the first time this year, with Zhang Zhizhen and Zheng Qinwen becoming the main players of the team. In the group stage, the Chinese team was in the same group as the Czech Republic and Serbia.
According to the schedule, the 18 teams were divided into six groups and played round-robin matches in Perth and Sydney, with the winners of the six groups and the best group runners-up from the two cities advancing to the quarter-finals.
Zheng Qinwen
After passing the first round, in the second round of the group stage, standing in front of the Chinese team is the Serbian team, which has the king-level player Djokovic in the team.
Zhang Zhizhen also got the opportunity to fight and practice with the ball king. "It's a really good opportunity, I've never played against a world No. 1, let alone a big three, so it's a really meaningful fight for me. He said.
In the first meeting between the two teams, World No. 58 Zhang Zhizhen challenged World No. 1 Novak Djokovic. After the opening game, Djokovic broke serve first and took the next set 6-3. In the second set, Djokovic continued his good hand and continued to extend his advantage after breaking serve in the opening game, winning another set 6-2 to win the match.
The second match was between Zheng Qinwen, ranked 15th in the world, and Danilovich, ranked 119th in the world. In the opening game, the Serbian woman broke serve to take a 2-0 lead, but Zheng Qinwen quickly overtook the score and won the first set 6-4.
Then Zheng Qinwen won the second set 6-2 to defeat his opponent, and the matchup between the two teams came to the third mixed doubles match.
Zheng Qinwen partnered Zhang Zhizhen against Djokovic/Danilovic in the first set, and the Chinese pair lost the first set 4-6. In the second set, Zheng Qinwen/Zhang Zhizhen quickly adjusted their state and took a 5-0 lead, and then pulled back a set 6-1.
The two sides entered the tie-break, Zheng Qinwen/Zhang Zhizhen failed to withstand the opponent's offensive, lost 6-10, and lost the game, but although failed to win the Serbian team, the Chinese team relied on a good small score and still had a good chance to advance to the quarterfinals as the second place in the group.