Zheng to face Wang in first all-Chinese WTA 1000 semi-final in Wuhan
Harry Carr
October 11, 2024 22:49 MYT
October 11, 2024 22:49 MYT
World number seven Zheng Qinwen will face Wang Xinyu in the first all-Chinese semi-final at a WTA 1000 event on Saturday, following the duo's quarter-final victories on Friday.
Zheng overcame Wimbledon and French Open runner-up Jasmine Paolini 6-2 3-6 6-3 in the last eight of the Wuhan Open, teasing several errors out of the Italian in the deciding set of a big-hitting encounter.
She has now won more matches since the end of Wimbledon (23) than any other player on the WTA Tour, and her next opponent will be compatriot Wang.
Wang came through a gruelling encounter with Ekaterina Alexandrova earlier on Friday, saving two match points en route to a 4-6 6-4 7-6 (8-6) victory.
Making her first WTA 1000 semi-final, the world number 51 is the second-lowest ranked player to ever reach that stage in Wuhan.
The winner of Saturday's tie will take on either Aryna Sabalenka or Coco Gauff in the final, with both players bidding to become the first Chinese player to go all the way at the tournament.
15 - Only Svetlana Kuznetsova (17) has taken fewer matches than Qinwen Zheng (18, level with Serena Williams and Aryna Sabalenka) to achieve 15 WTA-level match wins on Chinese soil. Comfort.#wuhanopen | @wuhanopentennis @WTA @WTA_insider pic.twitter.com/fzamSTJFik — OptaAce (@OptaAce) October 11, 2024
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Data Debrief: Rare home contest in the offing
Since the inception of WTA 1000 events in 2009, only two local pairs have met in a semi-final match in the format, ahead of Zheng and Wang becoming the third this weekend.
Serena and Venus Williams faced off in Miami in 2009, while Madison Keys and Sofia Kenin battled it out in the final four of the 2019 Cincinnati Open.