Zheng Qinwen successfully reversed Kalinskaya and successfully advanced to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open women's singles, soaring to No. 10 in the world rankings, leading Chinese tennis to another record. She will face qualifier from Ukraine, 93rd-ranked superstar Yastremska, who has quickly climbed up to 29th after an impressive eight-match winning streak. This post-00 contest will ignite the semi-finals at 6 o'clock Beijing time in the evening.
Discover the Rise of Yasteremska
At the Australian Open, Yasteremska became the first qualifier to reach the quarter-finals of the women's singles. She has shown amazing fighting power by defeating highly-ranked seeds such as Vondrousova and Azarenka in a row. The Ukrainian girl's ranking has soared 64 places in a short period of time to enter the top 30, behind the Australian Open quarterfinals Svitolina and Kostyuk, becoming a new force among the "three Ukrainian sisters".
Zheng Qinwen and Yasteremska will face off in the semi-finals. Although Zheng Qinwen remains ranked 10th in the world, she must go all out to defend her position against the Ukrainian super-dark horse. The clash between the two post-00s players will be staged at 6 o'clock Beijing time this evening, and who will have the last laugh will become the focus.
Yasteremska is 1.75 meters tall, two years older than Zheng Qinwen, and only 23 years old. She has accumulated 88 wins and 91 losses on the tour, a 49% win rate, and her highest ranking has reached 21st. With three tour titles, reaching the quarterfinals at this year's Australian Open is her best Grand Slam record. Judging from the data, she has won the tour championships in Hong Kong in 2018, Hua Hin in Thailand in 2019 and Strasbourg in France, showing good quality.
However, Yasteremska's career was not without smooth sailing. On November 24, 2020, her urine test was found to contain a metabolite of the banned drug mesterolone, resulting in her provisional ban. At the time, the 20-year-old was ranked 29th in the world, but she insisted she had never taken a banned drug. The incident also caused her to miss the 2021 season of the Australian Open.
At last year's WTA 250 in Lausanne, Switzerland, Jasteremska was defeated 0-6, 2-6 against 16-year-old Andreyeva of Russia. However, what is surprising is that after she lost, she actually reported her opponent for taking medicine, which caused a lot of turmoil. Such behavior raises questions about whether she really follows the ethics of the game, and also puts some stains on her professional image.
The controversy undoubtedly added some uncertainty to today's semi-finals. Whether Zheng Qinwen will be disturbed by these external factors has become a hot topic among fans and the media. While Zheng's strength and consistency have given her confidence in her chances of defending her title, she will need to remain mentally resilient in the face of such a situation.
Head-to-head record: Zheng Qinwen and Yasteremska historical matchup
The two players have no official head-to-head record to date, which makes their semi-final even more uncertain. Yasteremska has played Chinese players 10 times in the past, with a record of 6 wins and 4 losses. Among them, she lost to Zhang Shuai in Lyon, France in 2022, but she also defeated high-ranking players such as Bei Bei and Wang Qiang. This time against Zheng Qinwen, who is ranked 10th, she will face a bigger challenge.
Zheng Qinwen and Yasteremska will face off in high anticipation, especially as Zheng Qinwen seeks to retain the No. 10 spot in the world. Jastremska, a super-dark horse, has performed well at this Australian Open, can she continue her form and become a dark horse this season? This semi-final is destined to be full of sparks, and it remains to be seen who will have the last laugh.
Conclusion: Can Zheng Qinwen withstand the pressure and successfully advance to the final?
On Zheng's way to defend her title, she will face a strong resistance from Ukraine's super-dark horse Yastremska. With tomorrow's semi-finals approaching, fans are looking forward to this China-Ukraine matchup. Can Zheng Qinwen show the strength of the defending champion at a crucial moment and successfully advance to the final? The question has undoubtedly become one of the biggest suspense of this year's Australian Open. Let's wait and see, witness this collision between young forces, and cheer for our favorite players!