Sports
ZHENG Qinwen recovered from a “stupid mistake” to begin her Australian Open bid with a straight-set win on a rain-disrupted first day in Melbourne.
Chinese fifth seed Zheng, beaten by Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s final, won 7-6 (7-3) 6-1 against Romanian qualifier Anca Todoni under the roof on Rod Laver Arena.
The Olympic gold medallist served for the opening set at 5-4 40-0, but could not take any of her three set points.
Todoni, 20, had never beaten a top-50 opponent and had the chance to move halfway to a shock win after creating three set points on Zheng’s serve at 6-5.
But she could not convert and Zheng, 22, held before stepping up a gear in the tie-break.
The second set was more straightforward as Zheng, backed as usual by a huge number of Chinese fans, broke early before cruising through to victory.
“The first set is always not easy, especially because I was doing stupid mistakes – I don’t know what happened there,” she said.
“But I am happy to get through.”
On expectations rising after winning the Olympic title, she added: “Of course there starts to be more pressure but [the fans] are pushing me to become a better person and better athlete.
“I like to play with pressure. Like what Billie Jean King says – pressure is a privilege. I love this sentence.
“Let’s keep going and playing with pressure.”
While Zheng was able to complete her match indoors, a heavy thunderstorm caused play on the outdoor courts to be suspended until 17:00 local time (06:00 GMT)
Andreeva ‘feels like she belongs’ after opening win
Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva said she now feels she belongs on the WTA Tour after her first-round win over Marie Bouzkova.
The 17-year-old, who made her Slam debut at the 2023 French Open, recorded a routine 6-3 6-3 win over her Czech opponent.
Andreeva reached her first major singles semi-final at Roland Garros last year and has climbed to 15th in the world, but admitted to still feeling as though she was trying to prove herself last season.
“I would say that now I don’t feel like I’m a new player on the tour. I feel like I’m here now,” said Andreeva, who plays Magda Linette or Moyuka Uchijima next.
“Even when I was playing Roland Garros and Wimbledon in 2024, I was still trying to prove to people that I belong here, I’m going to play with you, and this is my place.
“I feel like now I do belong here at the end.” Bbcsport
A.I
Jan. 12, 2025
Tags: Zheng Qinwen
