On January 27, Beijing time, the women's singles final of the Australian Open was staged as scheduled.
China's golden flower Zheng Qinwen made her debut, facing the No. 2 seed and Belarusian star Sabalenka, Zheng Qinwen lost two sets in a row 3-6, 2-6, although she lost to her opponent, but also won the first Australian Open women's singles runner-up in her career.
For Zheng Qinwen, she has made history at this Australian Open.
For Zheng Qinwen, she has already made history at this Australian Open. In the women's singles main draw, she defeated Kruger, Usain Bolt, Wang Yafan, Dodin, Karinskaya, and Yastremska to advance to the final.
This is the first time she has reached a Grand Slam final in her career, and she has become the second Chinese player to reach a Grand Slam singles final after Li Na.
The last time a Chinese Jinhua reached a Grand Slam singles final was Li Na at the 2014 Australian Open, when Li Na also successfully lifted the championship trophy, and now the 21-year-old Zheng Qinwen stands on this stage, undoubtedly pinning the expectations of many Chinese audiences.
This is the first time in Zheng Qinwen's career that he has reached a Grand Slam final.
But it has to be admitted that it will not be easy to defeat strong opponent Sabalenka. The two had previously met in the quarterfinals of the 2023 US Open, with the Belarusian winning in two sets to prevent Zheng from going any further.
According to the official big data prediction before the game, Sabalenka's probability of winning reached as much as 81%.
Speaking about this opponent, Zheng Qinwen admitted that he is strong, "Sabalenka is one of the best batting players on the tour, she has the strongest serve, the best forehand and backhand. ”
But Zheng Qinwen also said that he will not give up the belief in winning, "Even if it is the same person, it is impossible to play perfectly every day, it depends on whether you can catch the ups and downs, of course, I will also have ups and downs, it depends on who is in better shape in the finals, and who can control themselves more stably." ”
"My dream is not only to reach the final, I'm just one step away [from winning], but this step can be very far away, I haven't reached the finish line yet, I have to keep going. ”
Compared with Zheng Qinwen, who ushered in the opportunity to win a Grand Slam title for the first time, Sabalenka has more experience in the tournament. She has previously competed in two Grand Slam singles finals and lifted her first Grand Slam trophy at the Australian Open last year.
Zheng was a little nervous in the opening stanza, but quickly regained his rhythm through service points.
As for the challenger Zheng Qinwen, the tennis star is not underestimated, "I will be mentally ready to fight and not lose control." ”
"Zheng Qinwen played very well, especially with a very good forehand, a very heavy ball, she can put a lot of pressure on her opponent, and she played very aggressively, and I think that's why she is in the top 10 in the world. ”
From the start of the first set, Sabalenka showed a strong sense of pressing. The No. 2 seed, who entered the tournament faster, took the lead to break serve 2-0, and Zheng Qinwen once won three consecutive break points in the third game, but still failed to break back.
In the 2-5 service game, Zheng Qinwen saved three consecutive set points to win, but then Sabalenka did not miss the opportunity to win the set on serve and won the first set with a score of 6-3.
Sabalenka has an advantage both in experience and technology.
In the second set, Sabalenka seized the opportunity of Zheng Qinwen's unstable serve, and broke Zheng Qinwen's serve as soon as she came up, and then Sabalenka broke again in the fifth game to extend her advantage. In the crucial 8th game, Zheng Qinwen saved 4 match points successively, which once made Sabalenka lose control of his emotions.
However, as the previous champion, Sabalenka made quick adjustments and finally won the second set with a score of 6-2 to defend the Australian Open women's singles title.
Despite missing out on her first Grand Slam title, Zheng Qinwen, who was in the Australian Open women's singles final for the first time, caused Sabalenka some problems in the match. The 21-year-old Chinese Jinhua has once again shown great potential in this Australian Open journey, and the future is even more exciting.