In the early morning of August 3, Beijing time, the first champion of the tennis event of the Paris Olympics was decided. China's Zhang Zhizhen/Wang Xinyu lost to the Czech pair Makhac/Siniakova after a top 10 battle and won a silver medal. Looking back at the Chinese pair's "past history", they were paired up just before the start of the mixed doubles competition, and they made it all the way to the final, which has caused the biggest surprise.
In the first set, Zhang Zhizhen/Wang Xinyu were disrupted by their opponents and were the first to be broken. The Czechs won the first set 6-2 on serve. In the second set, the Chinese pair fought with their backs, and the Chinese fans on the courtside were also cheering for them. After the stalemate between the two sides reached 5 draws, Zhang Zhizhen improved his hand in front of the net, and brought out a break to win the set after holding serve. The Chinese pair forced the first break point of the match to win the set 7-5.
Entering the tie-break game, Zhang Zhizhen continued his fiery serve and feel in front of the net, and once took a 3-0 lead. After that, the two sides fluctuated separately, and the first six points were tied. The pressure caused the players on both sides to fluctuate like a seesaw, and each was broken. It's a pity that Zhang Zhizhen made a key double fault and sent the championship point. The Czech pair won the tie-break 10-8 and won the Olympic mixed doubles gold medal. The Chinese team made their first appearance in the Olympic Games and won a silver medal, which is remarkable.
Looking back at the hour before the first match of the mixed doubles, Zhang Zhizhen saw that the mixed doubles partner Zheng Qinwen had already fought in three sets in the women's singles event, and expected that the two would not have the physical strength to fight the mixed doubles again. "We're all athletes, so I know very well that playing in this kind of weather is going to be very taxing," he said. After watching her fight, I even joked with the coaching staff that I was already watching the flight back to Shanghai at 9:20 tonight. ”
The most dramatic scene since then has occurred. In the first match of the mixed doubles, both the Chinese and Croatia wanted to withdraw because the female players Zheng Qinwen and Vekic on both sides played three sets in the women's singles and had fitness problems. Zhang Zhizhen said: "After all, the main event is in singles, and Zheng Qinwen won very hard, so I very much agree with her decision. ”
Later, Zhang Zhizhen and the team staff learned from the referee that the next group of mixed doubles pairs on the bench is ranked about 160 in the world. This means that if there is a partner, the Chinese pair can still appear in the mixed doubles competition. As a result, Wang Xinyu, who had already completed the singles and doubles matches, received a call from the coach asking if she could temporarily save the court and play another Olympic match. "I was actually just getting ready for treatment, and the coach asked me where I was and if I had a beat. I happened to have a racket and I brought clothes, but I didn't have clay shoes. Then I found a pair of hard shoes and came. Wang Xinyu recalled.
There was still more than an hour before the start of the mixed doubles match, and Wang Xinyu and Zhang Zhizhen began to hurry up and run in. Wang Xinyu revealed that the two had never cooperated in an official mixed doubles competition before, and only participated in an exhibition match of "tie ten". In the first round, the two cooperated frequently, but fortunately, the final result was surprising. "Actually, in terms of ability, I think we both have the advantage. It was very close at the end, but I think I was having more fun enjoying the game. The first time we officially cooperated, we didn't know what the other party thought. During the competition, we also kept asking each other about their feelings and opinions, including how to adjust their positioning. Wang Xinyu said.
And just like that, the new Chinese pair made it all the way to the final with faith and some luck, and finally stood on the Olympic podium. Regarding Zhang's performance in the mixed doubles event, Zhang Zhizhen's former teammate Wu Di said, "His doubles results this season are very good, and the men's doubles at the French Open reached the quarterfinals. Now he is competing in both singles and doubles, his performance is very comprehensive, and he has exceeded expectations in the finals of the Olympic Games, so there may be some luck, but his hard work, everyone can see. Wu Di revealed that there is another thing that also inspires Zhang Zhizhen, "He has just been promoted to become a father, and the baby was born during his participation in the Olympic Games, which also gives him a great blessing, and he is more calm and responsible in the game." Wu Di said.
Text/Beijing Youth Daily reporter Chu Peng
Editor/Xu Zhao