Zheng Qinwen enjoyed a good day at the office in her Miami opener as the No. 9 seed saw off 229th-ranked Lauren Davis 6-1 7-5 in an hour and 17 minutes of play.
Throughout the match, the Chinese tennis star – who had a first-round bye – served exceptionally and she finished with 12 aces and faced break points in only one game.
By beating the American and sealing a Miami third-round ticket, the 22-year-old also achieved a small feat and became the first player since Li Na to make round three at the tournament in three consecutive years.
3 – Qinwen Zheng is the second Chinese player to reach the round of 32 in the Women’s singles at Miami Open in three consecutive years after Li Na between 2012-2014. Stride. #MiamiOpen | @MiamiOpen @WTA @WTA_insider pic.twitter.com/TIW41mo4qp
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) March 20, 2025
In her next match, Zheng will battle against the winner of the match between No. 19 seed Yulia Putintseva and Taylor Townsend. If the top-ranked Chinese female tennis player wins, she will make the Miami round-of-16 for the second time in her career.
How Zheng ovecame Davis?
The first set was pure dominance by the No. 9 seed, who earned breaks in the second and sixth games to easily bag the opener. In the first set alone, the 2024 Paris Olympics gold medalist fired six aces and won 85 percent of her first serve points.
Zheng’s dominance continued at the start of the second set after she claimed an early break and went 3-1 up. But Davis refused to quit as she earned her first break points of the match in the sixth game and managed to get the break back.
However, the Chinese tennis star remained calm as she took the American’s serve again in the 11th game before sealing the deal in the following game.
Tennis World USA