In the early morning of August 3, Beijing time, the mixed doubles final of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games staged an exciting match at the Roland · Garros Stadium. China's Zhang Zhizhen/Wang Xinyu will face the Czech Republic's Katerina· Siniakova and Tomas· Mahachi for the final gold medal.
In the previous bronze medal match, Canada's Gabriella· Dabrowski and Felix· Auger-Aliassime defeated Netherlands's Demi Scholes · Wesley · Kurhoff 6-3, 7-6 to win a bronze medal.
After a comeback win over the Netherlands in the semi-finals, Zhang Zhizhen and Wang Xinyu have already made history for Chinese tennis. They said goodbye to the Roland · Garros Stadium with affection, hoping to end their Olympic journey with a happy ending.
At the beginning of the match, the two sides held each other's serve in the first four games of the first set, and the battle was tied at 2. In the fifth game, Siniakova and Mahachi performed well, successfully breaking serve and taking a 3-2 lead. In the sixth game, the Czechs held serve again and extended their lead.
In the crucial seventh game, the Czech pair frequently intercepted online and won three break points. Although Zhang and Wang stubbornly saved both break points, a double fault from Wang caused them to break again. Trailing 2-5 in the first set, the situation was very unfavorable. In the eighth game, Siniakova and Mahach scored four points in a row to hold serve and win the first set. Zhang Zhizhen and Wang Xinyu had as many as 13 unforced errors in this set, compared to just two for their opponents.
At the start of the second set, Zhang Zhizhen sent an ace, followed by a tackle by Wang Xinyu in front of the net to help the Chinese pair win the first game. In this set, the Chinese pair's unforced errors decreased significantly, and Zhang's serve continued to pose a threat. The two sides went back and forth and failed to complete the break. The Chinese pair led 6-5 and dragged the match into a tie-break. In the tie-break, Zhang Zhizhen and Wang Xinyu showed a very tenacious performance, showing a strong desire to break. After a lot of tug-of-war, Zhang finally managed to break serve with a tricky return and won the second set. The game went into a tie-break.
In the tie-break, Zhang Zhizhen sent an ace again. Siniakova's impatient interception at the net led to a mismatch, and then in the multi-shot stalemate, Zhang Zhizhen seized the gap to return the ball to give the Chinese pair a 3-0 lead. However, the Czechs also scored three points in a row to level the score.
Siniakova made a double fault and gave the Chinese pair one point. But then the score alternated upwards, and when it was Zhang's turn to serve, he made a double fault and gave his opponent a crucial point. In the end, Siniakova and Mahach won the tie-break 10-8 to win the mixed doubles gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Despite this, Zhang Zhizhen and Wang Xinyu still made history by winning the first Olympic mixed doubles silver medal for Chinese tennis.