On the evening of October 11, Beijing time, in the last match of the women's singles quarterfinals of the WTA1000 Wuhan Tennis Open, China's 22-year-old Jinhua Zheng Qinwen played against Italy player Paulini. Zheng Qinwen is ranked 7th in the world and is also the No. 5 seed in the tournament, after winning the gold medal at the Paris Olympics, she became the most watched athlete in China. Paulini is the No. 3 seed, ranked No. 6 in the world, and is in the middle of the match with Zheng Qinwen. However, Zheng Qinwen has won 2 times against the Italy, and has won 18 consecutive victories against the Italy player, which is Zheng Qinwen's advantage.
The match was very close, Zheng Qinwen fought for 134 minutes, defeated Paulini 2-1 (6-2, 3-6, 6-3), and what is even more terrifying is that Zheng Qinwen has won a terrifying 19 consecutive victories against Italy players, which can be called the nemesis of Italy tennis.
First set (Zheng Qinwen 6-2 Paulini)
In the first game, the game was tense and intense at the beginning, but Paulini made more forehand errors, and there were double faults, Zheng Qinwen suddenly changed the line to score, and broke serve first, 1-0. Zheng Qinwen is a slow-heating player, but she was very well prepared for this game, and she started a battle with Paulini for the baseline ball as soon as she came on the court. In the second game, Zheng Qinwen easily held serve, and the 2-0 lead was a bit too smooth, and Paulini was still looking for his form. In the third game, Paulini completed the hold in adversity, and Zheng Qinwen once led 30-0, but Paulini changed his tactics and mobilized Zheng Qinwen, and the combination of long and short balls did work.
In the fourth game, Zheng Qinwen's serve was very threatening, and he also blasted an ace, but he still completed the hold, 3-1. In the fifth game, Paulini completed the hold, her serve is not very threatening, it may be limited in height, but the baseline skills are solid, and the style of play is varied, and Sabalenka are two completely different players. In the sixth game, when the score was close, Zheng Qinwen hit an ace again, worthy of being the queen of serves, 4-2. In the seventh game, Zheng Qinwen broke serve again, and Paulini suddenly collapsed, 5-2. In the eighth game, Zheng Qinwen's serve won the set and hit an ace, there was no suspense, Zheng Qinwen easily won, 6-2.
Second set (Zheng Qinwen 3-6 Paulini)
In the first game, Zheng Qinwen took the lead in completing the break and thoroughly understood Paulini's style, 1-0. In the second game, Paulini scored 3 points in a row, Zheng Qinwen blasted out ACE to temporarily resolve the crisis, and then continued to chase points, but made a mistake at a critical moment and lost the game, and Paulini completed the break, 1-1. In the third game, Paulini completed the hold and seemed to have regained some confidence, but from the perspective of the situation, Zheng Qinwen still had a great advantage, and there was no need to worry at all.
In the fourth game, Zheng Qinwen hit another ace, but Paulini's confidence and state were regained, and Zheng Qinwen made a mistake by taking more shots, and completed the break again, and Zheng Qinwen fell behind 1-3. In the fifth game, Zheng Qinwen made a lot of mistakes, and Paulini completed the hold! In the sixth game, Zheng Qinwen completed the hold and chased it to 2-4. In the seventh game, Paulini struggled to hold serve, and the score came to 5-2. In the eighth game, Zheng Qinwen successfully maintained his serve and chased it to 3-5. In the ninth game, Paulini ended the second set with an ace, 6-3! Zheng Qinwen and Paulini came to 1-1.
Deciding set (Zheng Qinwen 6-3 Paulini)
In the first two games, Zheng Qinwen and Paulini both completed the hold, 1-1, and the second game was a pity, Zheng Qinwen lost points in a row and missed the break. In the third game, Zheng Qinwen hit the ace again and completed the hold, 2-1. In the fourth game, Zheng Qinwen still missed the break, in fact, it was a pity, the small score once chased 30-40, Paulini completed the hold, and the score came to 2-2!
In the fifth game, Zheng Qinwen continued his high scoring rate of one serve and completed the key hold, 3-2! In the sixth game, Paulini's multi-shot ability was indeed very strong, and after completing the hold, the score came to 3-3! In the seventh game, Zheng Qinwen was always able to hit a high-quality serve at critical moments, which was not luck, but the ability and sharpness to deal with difficulties, and blasted an ace to complete the hold, 4-3, and the pressure was given to Paulini.
In the eighth game, Zheng Qinwen took the lead in breaking serve and clenched his fists to celebrate, which was too critical, 5-3! In the ninth game, Paulini made a mistake in changing the line in the key round, and Zheng Qinwen completed the hold, 6-3!
Wuhan Open Top 4 Matchups Released (Zheng Qinwen VS Wang Xinyu, Gao Fu VS Sabalenka)
After Zheng Qinwen defeated Paulini and joined another Chinese Golden Flower King, Xinyu, the Chinese derby will be staged in the semi-finals of the Wuhan Open, which is also a very special moment. Wang Xinyu defeated strong opponent Alexandrova 2-1 in the previous reversal, and won the tie-break to advance in the deciding set. Wang Xinyu and Zheng Qinwen are both very young, and their entry into the top 4 of the Wuhan Tennis also indicates that after Li Na, another peak period of Chinese tennis is about to begin.
Gauff and defending champion Sabalenka are battling it out for a spot in the other final, and the quality of this match is sure to be high, as both of them are currently the best tennis players in the world!