Zheng Qinwen has been through to the semifinal at the WTA Finals after absolutely annihilating Jasmine Paolini 6-1 6-1.
Since the Chinese and the Italian entered their group-stage finale with a 1-1 record, it was a clear path for both players – win and you reach the knockout stage or lose and go home. And it was the Paris Olympics gold medalist who came up big, dominating in every aspect and winning in just an hour and seven minutes of play.
After routinely serving out the opening game of the match, Paolini shut down for the rest of the set as Zheng won the next six games to take the opener.
At the start of the second, this year’s French Open and Wimbledon runner-up managed to save a break point and get through the first game. But then just like in the first set, the fourth-ranked Italian then lost the next six games and the match.
Throughout the entire match, Zheng’s serve was outstanding as the world No. 7 fired 12 aces and saved 2-of-2 of the break points she faced. Also, she had 24 winners.
Zheng Qinwen© WTA Finals Riyadh/Instagram – Fair Use
On the other side, Paolini blasted 22 unforced errors and dropped her service five times.
Zheng reaches the semifinal in her WTA Finals debut
After finishing as runner-up at this year’s Australian Open and winning gold medal in her Olympic debut, the 22-year-old now has a shot at winning the prestigious season-ending tournament in her debut.
“It’s hard to say when the surprises will come because tennis is very unpredictable. I think the fans should relax. Do not put your hopes too high. We shall see each match from a normal perspective. That would actually be better for me. It’s hard to say what my performance will be at the Finals, but I will put in 100%,” Zheng told Chinese reporters in Wuhan last month when asked if she could “surprise” at the WTA Finals.
In the semifinal in Riyadh, the Chinese tennis star will probably take on either Iga Swiatek or Barbora Krejcikova.
