Olympic winner Zheng Qinwen exits in the second round of the Madrid Open
Chinese tennis star Zheng Qinwen was knocked out of the Madrid Open on Friday, facing a 6-4, 6-4 loss to Russia's Anastasia Potapova in a match that lasted one hour and 39 minutes. Zheng's elimination in the round of 64 marks the end of participation...
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Chinese tennis star Zheng Qinwen was knocked out of the Madrid Open on Friday, facing a 6-4, 6-4 loss to Russia's Anastasia Potapova in a match that lasted one hour and 39 minutes.
Zheng's elimination in the round of 64 marks the end of participation for Chinese players in both the men's and women's singles draws in the Spanish capital. The eighth seed and gold medalist from the upcoming 2024 Paris Summer Olympics struggled to hit her stride against Potapova, who is ranked 87th in the world, on a warm and sunny afternoon.
The World No. 8's primary challenge appeared to be her serve, as she managed to win only 40 percent of those points in the first set. In contrast, Potapova maintained a much more stable performance, winning 64 percent of her first-serve points, which kept Zheng under considerable pressure.
Zheng seemed to be finding her footing when she broke Potapova's serve while trailing 5-3 in the first set. However, Potapova quickly responded by breaking Zheng's serve in the 10th game to take the set 6-4.
In the second set, Zheng broke Potapova in the third game and began delivering improved serves but was broken again in the seventh and ninth games, marking a return to serving struggles.
In other matches on Friday, 17th seed Elina Svitolina secured a comfortable 6-3, 6-1 win against Sonay Kartal, while Elise Mertens defeated Camila Osoria 6-3, 6-3. Top seed Aryna Sabalenka also began her title defense successfully, taking down Anna Blinkova with a score of 6-3, 6-4.
Zheng was not the only seeded player to exit in the last 64, as 2022 champion Ons Jabeur from Tunisia was upset by Moyuka Uchijima from Japan with a score of 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. Additionally, 21st seed Ekaterina Alexandrova lost to Olga Danilovic 6-3, 6-4, and Peyton Stearns caused a stir by defeating 15th seeded Amanda Anisimova 6-2, 2-6, 7-5.
Ian Smith for TROIB News
Zheng's elimination in the round of 64 marks the end of participation for Chinese players in both the men's and women's singles draws in the Spanish capital. The eighth seed and gold medalist from the upcoming 2024 Paris Summer Olympics struggled to hit her stride against Potapova, who is ranked 87th in the world, on a warm and sunny afternoon.
The World No. 8's primary challenge appeared to be her serve, as she managed to win only 40 percent of those points in the first set. In contrast, Potapova maintained a much more stable performance, winning 64 percent of her first-serve points, which kept Zheng under considerable pressure.
Zheng seemed to be finding her footing when she broke Potapova's serve while trailing 5-3 in the first set. However, Potapova quickly responded by breaking Zheng's serve in the 10th game to take the set 6-4.
In the second set, Zheng broke Potapova in the third game and began delivering improved serves but was broken again in the seventh and ninth games, marking a return to serving struggles.
In other matches on Friday, 17th seed Elina Svitolina secured a comfortable 6-3, 6-1 win against Sonay Kartal, while Elise Mertens defeated Camila Osoria 6-3, 6-3. Top seed Aryna Sabalenka also began her title defense successfully, taking down Anna Blinkova with a score of 6-3, 6-4.
Zheng was not the only seeded player to exit in the last 64, as 2022 champion Ons Jabeur from Tunisia was upset by Moyuka Uchijima from Japan with a score of 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. Additionally, 21st seed Ekaterina Alexandrova lost to Olga Danilovic 6-3, 6-4, and Peyton Stearns caused a stir by defeating 15th seeded Amanda Anisimova 6-2, 2-6, 7-5.
Ian Smith for TROIB News
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