Zheng Saisai kissed the trophy.
On August 5, Beijing time, the WTA Top Tour San Jose station ushered in the final day. In the women's singles final, which has attracted the attention of Chinese fans, China's Zheng Saisai defeated the world's No. 2 seed Sabalenka, the 10th-ranked tournament, 6-3, 7-6 (3).
With this victory, the 25-year-old Xi'an girl not only defeated the top 10 players again after 2 years. More importantly, she is the second Chinese player to win a top tour since Li Na (Sydney in 2011).
From obscurity to the spotlight, Zheng Saisai still maintains his original love for tennis. For the future, she hopes to be on the stage of the Tokyo Olympics and win a medal for her motherland – "That was my dream since I was a child." ”
Zheng Saisai defeated himself.
After Li Na, another top champion
Just before the start of this San Jose leg, Zheng Saisai was in the trough of the season. The record of 5 consecutive defeats has made it impossible for everyone to focus on her.
It wasn't until late at night last Saturday that Ms. Zheng arrived in the city in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she only had one day to adjust to the venue. Her opponents include three Grand Slam winners, two former world number ones and 15 wta champions.
But whether it's seven-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams, French Open and Wimbledon champion Muguruza, or two-time Australian Open champion Azarenka, who struggled with her postpartum comeback... None of these stars with their own halos have been able to reach the final victory.
In the colorful women's tennis arena, it was Zheng Saisai, who was ranked only 55th in the world, who knocked on the door of victory.
"From the first game I heard a lot of people cheering for me. I was surprised because I was playing in the United States, far from home. There were a lot of Chinese fans on the scene, and a lot of locals started supporting me after my second match. ”
Zheng Saisai, who conquered the audience, was not a good sign. She eliminated the No. 8 seed, the Australian Open Top 4 Collins, the "post-00" No. 4 seed Anisimova, and the Greek Sakkari who previously eliminated Svitolina.
China's Jinhua final opponent is the no. 2 seed Sabalenka, but the former is not without advantages. The only previous meeting between the two was at ITF Zhuhai in 2017, when Zheng Saisai won 7-5, 6-3.
This time, Zheng Saisai once again seized the opportunity. She achieved five breaks with a 100% break success rate and a 72% break success rate over Sabalenka, which is her top 10 victory since 2017.
So what level of competition is San Jose?
After the restructuring of the WTA in 2009, the competition levels from high to low are the Crown Pearl, the Super Five Tour, the Top Tour and the International Tour.
Among them, san jose tournaments belong to the top tour level, second only to the Crown And Super Five. As a result, Zheng Saisai became the first Chinese tennis player to win the WTA top tournament in eight years – Li Na won the sydney championship in 2011, and Peng Shuai also reached the final of this level.
Let go of all stress and focus only on the present moment
When it comes to Zheng Saisai, perhaps most people only stay in her doubles, or only have some superficial impressions. But this unexpected trip to San Jose brought the mesozoic player, who has always been unknown, into the public eye.
Zheng Saisai was born into a Sino-Tibetan family in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province. Her father was Professor Sonamgare, the first Tibetan doctor in the discipline of electrical engineering in New China, so she also had her own Tibetan name, Suodian Dolma.
Racing has shown athletic talent since childhood. In 2009, 15-year-old Zheng Saisai won the ITF championship, becoming the youngest ITF singles champion in China; the following year, she won 1 gold and 1 silver at the Singapore Youth Olympic Games, giving the Chinese women's tennis team hope.
Like most young and famous players, Zheng Saisai also suffered a period of lows. At the 2017 Madrid Open, she had a meniscus tear in her knee, when there was a danger that the meniscus would fall out if left untreated.
But for the sake of that year's Tianjin National Games, Zheng Saisai made up his mind to postpone the operation. She once revealed that she had to do ice, needles and 4 hours of physiotherapy every day during that period, "it was really painful at that time." ”
Fortunately, Zheng Saisai's surgery was successfully completed, and she also passed the recovery period smoothly. In April of this year, She beat Zhang Shuai to win the title, which was the third WTA 125k women's singles title of her career.
Although he performed well on the WTA Tour, Zheng Saisai did not perform well in the competition. This season, she has suffered one round in all three Grand Slam tournaments and a five-game losing streak in front of San Jose.
Falling into a trough again, the Xi'an girl was inevitably a little frustrated. But after Wimbledon, one of her friends untied her knot: "She told me not to make me so emotional, to play with my head and play my best tennis." ”
Since then, Zheng Saisai has begun to try to let go of the baggage, "I found myself carrying too much pressure and expectations. So I learned to focus on the moment in training and in competitions instead of thinking about the outcome. ”
Zheng Saisai in the game.
At the Tokyo Olympics, I want to get a medal
Under the guidance of this "mindfulness", Zheng Saisai put down his baggage and began to enjoy every minute and second of the game.
"If I win, I think it's normal, I'm more focused on every shot in the moment." After the game, Zheng Saisai said, "I told myself that this was an ordinary game, not a final, so I enjoyed it. ”
Sabalenka bluntly said that he was completely limited by his opponent that day, "I can't do anything, I can't control my emotions, her techniques and tactics make it impossible for me to use my strength." ”
Affirmed by his opponents, Zheng Saisai also returned to the top 50 ranks again. After winning her first WTA top-level title of her career, the 25-year-old Xi'an girl's instant ranking also soared from 55th last week to 38th.
Zheng Saisai admitted that the championship has strengthened her confidence, but she still remains sober: "I never thought about beating so many seeded players, and the ranking does not show how strong a player is. ”
In fact, Zheng Saisai has gradually begun to come out of the state of obscurity. In this year's French Open, she partnered with Duan Yingying all the way to the final, and finally lost to the No. 2 seed of the tournament, the Grand Slam duo Ofladenovic/Babos.
Today, Grand Slam runners-up and top-level champions have said her light. For the future, Zheng Saisai hopes to stand on the stage of the Olympic Games, "hoping that singles and doubles can break into the Tokyo Olympic Games and strive to win a medal." ”