Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen earned her first win over World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in her seventh seventh all-time encounter, advancing to the semifinals of the Italian Open with a 6-4, 6-3 victory. Zheng was not only 0-6 against Sabalenka entering their first match on clay surface other than hard courts: She was also 0-2 at the quarterfinal hurdle in Rome.
But in 1 hour and 37 minutes, she snapped both of those winless marks, saving all five break points that she faced and breaking Sabalenka’s serve three times, WTA reports. Zheng later credited her comfort level on clay with being the X-factor in comparison to their previous six tilts. Though Sabalenka was on a nine-match winning streak on the surface, Zheng boasts a 3-0 record in clay-court finals, and is 17-3 in her last 20 clay-court matches.
“During all this time I’m trying to beat her on court. Sometimes I’m really close, but it’s just I never make it before. his is the first time we play on clay. I guess when I play on clay, I’m more comfortable because I got great experience on clay,” Zheng said post-match.
“I was more patient than her. I’m just happy with my performance and happy to make the step forward to beat the World No. 1,” Zheng, who hit 27 unforced errors to just 15 winners, said. Zheng is the second Chinese woman to reach the semifinals in Rome after Li Na, who was runner-up at the tournament in 2012.
She will bid for her second career WTA 1000 final against No. 4 seed Coco Gauff, who had earlier defeated Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva in straight sets to march into the last four.
Gauff won both previous meetings against Zheng Qinwen (in Rome’s quarterfinals last season and in the championship match at the WTA Finals in Riyadh last year). She’s won nine of her 10 matches on the red clay in Madrid and Rome, according to WTA stats.
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