In the early morning of March 7, Beijing time, Chinese tennis player Zhang Shuai defeated Ukrainian player Yastremska in the final of the WTA250 Lyon Open, winning the Tour singles championship after four and a half years.
In the women's singles final of WTA250 in Lyon, France, China's Jinhua Zhang Shuai fought hard in three sets to reverse The Ukrainian "post-00s" Player Yastremska 3-6, 6-3 and 6-4 to win the third singles title of her career, which was also her first time to win the championship outside of China.
Unlike other Chinese players who went to Mexico in groups, Zhang Shuai chose to come to Europe alone, and showed a good state this week, she did not lose a set in the four games before the final, especially in the semi-finals, she also defeated the local darling, former world fourth Garcia, after the game Zhang Shuai also said that he was very happy to be able to reach the final in the indoor competition in Lyon.
Compared to Zhang Shuai, who reached the final in the indoor hard court for the first time, the opponent's style of play seemed to be more suitable for this fast court, and sure enough, the Ukrainian player showed a strong offensive firepower in the first set, somewhat suppressing Zhang Shuai in terms of strength, and finally took the lead 6-3.
However, in the last two sets, Zhang Shuai, who gradually adapted to the opponent's ball path, began to play his advantage of changing landing points, although due to well-known reasons, the audience almost gave the cheers to Yastremska, but this inspired Zhang Shuai's fighting spirit more, and the last two sets were completed after being broken first, and finally won the victory.
I have to say that whether it is technical and tactical play, or the willpower when the score and the innings are lagging behind, Zhang Shuai's performance in this final is impeccable, especially when the opponent is close to the home treatment, Zhang Shuai is not affected, but more and more courageous, showing the professional style of a mature player.
"It's been an incredible week, very high-quality finals," Zhang Shuai said after winning the title: "In the last three or four years, I have watched Jastremska continue to grow, she has won a lot of championships, she has played very well, very powerful, and I can only focus on myself today, and I am very proud to be able to win." ”
Zhang Shuai is true, in 2018, when Jastremska won the first crown of his career in Hong Kong, the last two games were successively defeated by Zhang Shuai and Wang Qiang, but after that, Zhang Shuai won two consecutive victories, in addition to today's final, there is also a fourth round of Wimbledon in 2019, which is the first time in Zhang Shuai's career to reach the wimbledon quarterfinals.
The victory broke the nearly five-year championship drought for Zhang Shuai, whose first two titles were Guangzhou in 2013 and 2017, followed by runner-up in the two finals, hobart in Australia in 2020 and meadows in Nottingham, England last year, and this time she finally won the singles title for the first time outside of China.
In fact, in recent years, compared to singles, Zhang Shuai has achieved higher achievements in doubles, she and Australian player Stosur partnered, won the Australian Open women's doubles championship in 2019, and won the US Open women's doubles championship last year, so in the eyes of many people, Zhang Shuai seems to be becoming a doubles player, but she is obviously not satisfied with being a doubles expert, but hopes to "grasp with both hands".
During the epidemic in 2020, Zhang Shuai was almost the only Chinese player to go abroad to compete, and last year she gave up the Olympic Games and the National Games and focused on the professional arena, which can be seen that Zhang Shuai now has a sense of urgency, hoping to play more games in the last few years of her career and not leave regrets for herself, after all, she is now 33 years old. After this victory, Zhang Shuai's world ranking will rise back to 41, and if this momentum can be maintained, it is very promising to win a seeding place at the French Open.
Wen | Yisang
Edit | Fat Cat