On January 31, Eurosport published an interview article on its official website, in which former world No. 1, tennis legend and Eurosport tennis commentator Wieland said that he was optimistic that Zheng Qinwen would win the Grand Slam title after the Australian Open.
The 21-year-old reached his first Grand Slam final at this year's Australian Open, losing 2-0 to defending champion Sabalenka. On Monday, the WTA released its latest singles rankings, and Zheng Qinwen ranked seventh in the world with 3,950 points. She has a total prize pool of $1.914 million this year and a career total of $4.661 million so far.
In the interview, Wieland believes that Zheng will "make great progress" after the Australian Open, former British number one Henman is confident that Zheng will win a Grand Slam title, and another tennis expert, Robson, believes that Zheng Qinwen will be a threat on court this year and is optimistic about her doing well in the clay season.
When Europeans and Americans think of Chinese tennis, the first thing that comes to mind is Li Na, and they like to compare the newly rising Zheng Qinwen with Li Na.
Li Na is a late-blooming player, having reached her first Grand Slam final at the Australian Open at the age of almost 29, her first Grand Slam title at the French Open at the age of 29 and a half, her second final at the Australian Open at the age of nearly 31, and the Australian Open at the age of almost 32.
Above, 14-year-old Zheng Qinwen receives guidance from Li Na's former coach Carlos
Zheng Qinwen's results came much earlier than Li Na, and she reached the Australian Open final at the age of 21 years and 4 months.
"Zheng Qinwen will learn a lot from what Li Na has done over the years. Wieland said.
Li Na only won the Australian Open final for the third time, and it would be an incredible miracle if Zheng Qinwen reached the final for the first time. In Wieland's opinion, the young Zheng Qinwen needs to be patient and mentally prepared to win a Grand Slam.
Wieland, who has won seven titles and four runners-up in Grand Slam singles, said, "When I hear Zheng's coach talk about how hard she works, gets up at 7 a.m., never complains, and trains whenever she wants, I think she's going to make huge progress." This is very refreshing to me. ”
The picture above shows a huge advertisement for Zheng Qinwen in Sanlitun, Beijing
In this interview, former British "tennis brother" Henman believes that Zheng's Australian Open final is "just the tip of the iceberg", and he believes that Zheng Qinwen will definitely win a Grand Slam title in the future.
Zheng reached the quarterfinals at the US Open last year and made his breakthrough at the Australian Open just four months later. "She's played incredible tennis and it's been a huge learning curve. I'm sure it's painful to be beaten [in a Grand Slam final], but I think with Zheng's work ethic, mentality and results, she'll definitely improve. Henman said.
Henman's career-high singles ranking is No. 4 in the world, he has reached the semi-finals of six Grand Slams, won 11 tournament titles, and has been a tennis commentator since his retirement. In Henman's view, Zheng Qinwen has a lot to improve.
The picture above shows the official release of Zheng Qinwen's "Dragon" theme poster at the Australian Open
"She needs to improve her serve, and her forehand is also a weapon, but it can be inconsistent. Reaching the final of the Australian Open will give her more motivation, and losing in the final will also give her motivation, and I'm sure she'll keep trying. If she can continue like this, I am sure she will win a major in the future. Henman commented.
Robson, another tennis expert, looks ahead to the upcoming clay season, believing that Zheng Qinwen will perform well on clay.
"Zheng Qinwen had a fantastic two weeks at the Australian Open, and she made good use of the competitive advantage of the opening of the top half of the draw. Zheng didn't play against anyone in the top 50 before the final, but I think she did really well on clay. ”
After the final, Zheng Qinwen himself talked about what needs to be improved. "Maybe I have to work harder on tennis, work harder mentally, work harder on myself to get through this moment. Because if you lose, then there must be a reason behind your loss, and we have to try to find out why and then come out stronger and better next time. I think I can learn more from today's loss and then hope to come back and get stronger next time as a better tennis player." ”
After the Australian Open, Zheng Qinwen went to the training base in Spain to rest, and then rushed to the Middle East to participate in the WTA1000 Doha on February 11 and the WTA1000 Dubai on February 18. Next, Zheng Qinwen will fly to the United States in early March to participate in the "Sunshine Double Tournament" in Indian Wells and Miami.
The above four stops are all WTA1000-level events, and Zheng Qinwen's results will be the key to her standing in the top ten in the world!