On the evening of October 13, in the women's singles final of the 2024 Wuhan Open, Chinese player Zheng Qinwen lost 1-2 to defending champion Sabalenka. Although unfortunately he missed the cup, Zheng Qinwen still created his best record in the WTA1000 event. After the race, Zheng Qinwen posted on social media to cheer him up: "There is no end to the road of chasing dreams."
Three sets of hard battles and defeat of the fierce opponent, this runner-up is of extraordinary significance!
On October 13, in the third meeting with Sabalenka in a year, Zheng Qinwen still failed to have the last laugh. However, she has already made significant progress this time, dragging the match against Sabalenka into the third hour and earning $309,280 in prize money and 650 points for the runner-up in the WTA1000 event.
Looking back on the promotion road of this year's Wuhan Open, on October 9, Zheng Qinwen got off to a good start in the Wuhan Open, advanced to the top 16, and returned to seventh in the world; On October 10, she reversed the former US Open women's singles runner-up Fernandez and advanced to the top 8; On October 11, he defeated Paulini 6-2/3-6/6-3, won all 10 consecutive three-set battles, and successfully met Wang Xinyu in the semifinals, creating history; On October 12, he reached the final of the Wuhan Open for the first time; On October 13, Zheng Qinwen won the runner-up in the martial arts network.
Five games in five days, all amazing. Along the way, this Wuhan Open runner-up means a lot to Zheng Qinwen, reaching the finals of a WTA1000-level tournament for the first time in his career, creating the best result of a Chinese player in the women's singles field of the Wuhan Open, and becoming the first Chinese player to advance to the final of a WTA1000-level tournament held in China.
In previous interviews, Zheng Qinwen has said that if she wants to become the best player, she needs to cross the mountain in front of her, and Sabalenka is one of them.
In the previous three meetings, Zheng Qinwen lost 0-2 to Sabalenka. This time, however, she stubbornly won the first set, which at one point took Sabalenka out of rhythm.
Speaking after the match, Zheng said: "I have done my best, and beating Sabalenka has always been my goal, and I will definitely achieve it in the future. ”
In the year when it was chased by the record, the "Qin" boat had passed over the Ten Thousand Mountains
From Australian Open runner-up to Olympic champion to Wuhan Open runner-up, Zheng Qinwen's performance this year has fully demonstrated that the consistency and tenacity she has shown against players of her own level or ranked lower than her own are very rare among today's women's tennis players.
Since the US Open, Zheng Qinwen has not had an upset except for two 0-2 losses to Sabalenka and Mukhova, and after the Olympics, he overcame flu, fever, falls and other unexpected situations, and Zheng Qinwen broke into the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals.
Although there is no official announcement, Gauff, Paolini, Rybakina, Pegula and Krejcikova have already secured their places in the WTA Finals, so there is only one last ticket left to compete for the finals.
The runner-up at the Wuhan Open brought Zheng Qinwen's championship points to 4,100 points, stretching the gap with Navarro to 532 points, and she only needs to win any tournament in Ningbo and Tokyo to secure the last spot.
In 2013, Li Na lost to Serena Williams of the United States, then world No. 1 in the WTA Finals in the 2013 season, and finally finished second with a score of 1:2, creating the best result for an Asian player.
Next, Zheng Qinwen will have a high probability of standing on the stage of this year's WTA year-end finals, and another mountain is in front of him, whether Zheng Qinwen, who has just turned 22, can still make history, we will wait and see.
Looking forward to a strong return next year, the blessed land of Wuhan will continue to see "Zheng"
"When you come back to the Wuhan Open next year, what kind of identity or title do you want to stand on the court in your hometown?" After tonight's game, a reporter from Changjiang Cloud News asked Zheng Qinwen a question.
"In the world of tennis, it's hard to predict what will happen in the coming year, but I hope that next year I can have a healthy body and come back to the Wuhan Open to play with all my might." Zheng Qinwen said.
"If I reach the final, I will very much look forward to playing Zheng Qinwen in the final of the Wuhan Open." As early as October 9, Sabalenka was looking forward to the match with Zheng Qinwen when answering questions from a reporter from Changjiang Cloud News.
In this year's Wuhan Open competition, Sabalenka felt a different atmosphere, the fans who cheered for her tried their best to shout from the first round, starting from the 1/4 finals, the center court of the Optics Valley International Tennis Center was full of spectators every time, and the two Chinese players broke into the semifinals......
Sabalenka said bluntly: "It's crazy, thank you very much Qinwen for winning the Olympic title, making tennis more and more popular in China, and more and more people watching the tournament, I really enjoy playing in front of so many people and winning the third beautiful Wuhan tennis trophy." ”
Born in 2014, the Wuhan Open has gradually become an internationally renowned tennis tournament, and the level of the event has continued to improve, and now it is second only to the four Grand Slams. In the future, the Optics Valley International Tennis Center will definitely give birth to more tennis history, and more and more of the world's top players will come here to experience the charm of the martial arts.
After tonight's game, Zheng Qinwen posted a Weibo with the text "There is no end to the road of chasing dreams". Subsequently, netizens praised her.
In one tournament, two local players entered the semi-finals, as a blessed land for Chinese players. In the future, Wuhan will also witness the birth of China's new tennis king.
(Changjiang Cloud News reporter Chen Yaxi)