Distracted by a time penalty and unable to counteract No. 97-ranked Laura Siegemund’s aggressive method, Zheng Qinwen’s loss within the second spherical Wednesday fell a great distance in need of final yr’s run to the Australian Open closing.
China’s Zheng Qinwen hits a return in opposition to Germany’s Laura Siegemund throughout their ladies’s singles match on day 4 of the Australian Open(AFP)
Zheng misplaced the 2024 decider at Melbourne Park to Aryna Sabalenka and went on to win the Olympic gold medal in Paris and end runner-up on the WTA Finals in a breakout season.
However her first match of the yr led to a 7-6 (3), 6-3 loss on John Cain Area in opposition to 36-year-old Siegemund, who attacked from the primary level and put Zheng off her recreation.
Zheng wanted a change of sneakers early within the second set, acquired a time warning on her serve from the chair umpire — she stated she could not clearly see the clock — and was apprehensive about some minor points which sidelined her earlier than the Australian Open.
“I feel maybe today is not my day. There’s a lot of details in the important points. I didn’t do the right choice,” Zheng stated.
Of a weak serve that bounced earlier than the web, Zheng stated the time warning from the umpire “obviously that one really distracted me from the match.”
“This is my fourth year in the tour, and never happen that to me.”
Each of final yr’s ladies’s finalists had been taking part in on the similar time on close by courts.
Sabalenka, the two-time defending champion, prolonged her run to 16 wins at Melbourne Park by profitable the final 5 video games to beat No. 54-ranked Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-3, 7-5.
Naomi Osaka, one other two-time Australian Open champion, reached the third spherical of a significant for the primary time since 2022 when she weathered an early barrage from U.S. Open semifinalist Karolina Muchova earlier than rallying to win 1-6, 6-1, 6-3.
Osaka misplaced within the first spherical right here final yr to Caroline Garcia in her comeback from maternity depart however avenged that with a first-round victory over Garcia this week.
Osaka stated she used a loss to Muchova on the U.S. Open as motivation.
“She crushed me in the U.S. Open when I had my best outfit ever,” Osaka joked in a post-match interview. “I was so disappointed. I was so mad. This was my little revenge.”
Osaka will subsequent meet Belinda Bencic, the Tokyo Olympic gold medalist who’s taking part in in her first main for the reason that delivery of her daughter, Bella, final yr.
Additionally advancing had been No. 7 Jessica Pegula, had a 6-4, 6-2 win over Elise Mertens, and 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva, the No. 14 seed who beat Moyuka Uchijima 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (8).
The scoreline in Sabalenka’s match did not replicate the issue, with Bouzas Maneiro taking enormous swipes on the ball in her Australian Open debut and dictating among the factors in opposition to the world No. 1-ranked participant. Her serve let her down, with Sabalenka in a position to relieve some strain on her personal serve with 5 breaks.
No. 7 Jessica Pegula had a 6-4, 6-2 win over Elise Mertens to achieve the third spherical, together with Belinda Bencic and 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva, the No. 14 seed who beat Moyuka Uchijima 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (8).
Siegemund has by no means been previous the third spherical in Australia, however is taking confidence from her large upset. Her solely lapse was when she was damaged serving for the primary set. She recovered to dominate the tiebreaker, whereas Zheng remained too conservative in her techniques till proper close to the tip.
“I knew I just had to play more than my best tennis. I had nothing to lose. I just told myself to swing free,” Siegemund stated. Zheng is “an amazing player. One of the best players right now, but I know I can play well and I wanted to show that to myself.”
Third-seeded Carlos Alcaraz, aiming so as to add the Australian Open title to finish a set of all 4 main crowns, superior 6-0, 6-1, 6-4 victory over Yoshihito Nishioka.
“The less time you spend on the court in the Grand Slams, especially at the beginning of the tournament, it’s gonna be better, especially physically,” Alcaraz stated. “I just try to be focused on spending as less time as I can,” on courtroom.