Zheng Qinwen has made the final in Riyadh and she is now a win away from winning the Paris Olympics and WTA Finals in her debut.
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On Friday, the Chinese tennis star saw off reigning Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova 6-3 7-5.
Early in the match, the Paris Olympics gold medalist was all over the Czech, starting the match with an early break and a 3-0 lead before routinely sealing the first set and also starting the second set with back-to-back breaks and a 3-0 lead.
Up by a set and a double break, Zheng appeared to be heading toward a convincing win. But then, Krejcikova got her first break points of the match and claimed back-to-back breaks to go 4-3 up in the second set.
Fortunately for the 22-year-old Chinese, she was able to re-focus and claim another break in the 11th game for a 6-5 lead before serving out for a two-set win in the following game..
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Zheng's serve worked well again, she is now close to getting a rematch vs Aryna Sabalenka
After firing 12 aces in a key group-stage win against Jasmine Paolini, the world No. 7 also had nine aces in a win over Krejcikova.
I finally feel that my serve has started to be a bit more consistent," she said two days ago.
In the same interview, Zheng - who has a 0-5 head-to-head against Sabalenka and lost to the Belarusian in her first match in Riyadh - admitted that the new world No. 1 is motivating her to get better.
She won two slams. This is really big achievement for her. And I remember last year, she won her first Grand Slam in the Australian Open. And then she kept going, kept working. But you know, both slams that she won this year, I lost against her on the way. Which means if I want to win a slam, I have to be able to beat her. And Im quite excited for that day," the Chinese said.
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If Sabalenka beats Coco Gauff in the remaining semifinal, Zheng will battle the Belarusian for the WTA Finals title.
