- ROME — 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- "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.
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- "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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
