Qinwen Zheng expressed her disappointment after losing the final of the 2024 Australian Open to Aryna Sabalenka. The 21-year-old Chinese player reached her first Grand Slam final in just her 9th appearance in a main draw and will enter the top 10 for the first time in her career.
The young star didn't play a good match in the final and was outplayed from start to finish by Sabalenka. Zheng struggled to find consistency throughout the match, and one of her main issues was her low first serve percentage (53% compared to Sabalenka's 67%), in addition to winning only 9 of the 24 points played with her second serve.
'Queen Wen' acknowledged that she wasn't close to her best level and that against an opponent of Sabalenka's caliber, there aren't many chances if she's not playing at 100%: 'I think in this match I started pretty slow. I didn’t play my tennis there,' Zheng told reporters."
“I think the difference was the beginning. I couldn’t hold the service game. Then later on, when I got the chance to break her 40-Love up, I was not able to make it.”
“If I play against Sabalenka at this level, if you don’t take this chance the match went away really fast. She’s a really aggressive player. If you let a chance go, it will happen.”
“Generally, I improved bit by bit,” Zheng reflected. “I think Sabalenka is one of the most tough opponents I have faced. But I think I need to improve more myself to be able to face this kind of situation for the next time,” she added.
At 21 years old, she is the second Chinese player to reach an Australian Open final after Li Na, who won the title in 2014. Despite the defeat, Zheng emphasized the importance of continuing to work with her team to improve in the upcoming tournaments:
“I have to work more on my tennis, also work more on my mental side,” she stated. “If you lose, there must be a reason behind why you lost and we (Zheng and her team) have to try to figure out why and then come back stronger and better next time.”
Tough loss for Qinwen Zheng. But she has a lot to be proud of. On the 10 year anniversary of Li Na’s last Grand Slam win, another powerful, strong, proud Chinese woman announced herself. 🔹1st Chinese woman to reach Grand Slam Final since Li Na in 2014 🔷2nd Chinese woman…
