Zhang Shuai yesterday said that she nearly quit after losing 24 matches in a row — now the world No. 595 is into the quarter-finals of her home China Open.
The 35-year-old is to face Spain’s Paula Badosa as the lowest-ranked player to reach this stage in the history of the tournament after Badosa reeled off 11 of the last 12 games in a 6-4, 6-0 victory over US Open finalist Jessica Pegula.
Zhang went into Beijing on a barren run lasting more than 600 days and her string of singles defeats was the second-longest on the WTA Tour Open era, which began in 1968.
Photo: AFP
In a dramatic change of fortune, the former top-25 player who has been plagued by injury, has now won four matches in seven days without dropping a set.
Speaking after a dominant 6-4, 6-2 victory over Magdalena Frech in the round-of-16, Zhang laid bare the pain she endured as she suffered loss after loss.
“Coming to Beijing I had a lot of pressure and was nervous because I had lost 24 matches,” said Zhang, who has reached two Grand Slam singles quarter-finals, in 2016 at Australia and Wimbledon in 2019.
“I had no idea how to win and I didn’t want to lose another, especially with all the Chinese fans,” she said. “When I think about this, I’m really sad. Walking back to the locker room, I didn’t know if I should continue or not before this tournament.”
Zhang was encouraged to carry on playing singles because she was still winning matches in doubles, in which she is a two-time major champion.
She reached the women’s doubles final at the US Open last month with France’s Kristina Mladenovic.
Zhang felt she had a chance to snap her losing streak in Beijing because she feels completely at home on the hard courts, where she has played many times down the years.
Zhang is popular among other players in the locker room and said that their support, along with that of her coaching team, pulled her back from the brink of quitting.
Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka this week said that it was emotional to see Zhang win again.
“Sometimes I lost the faith because the good result never came, but my coach said he trusted me. He said: ‘For sure one day, if you win one, you can continue to win a lot of matches,’” Zhang said. “It helped me a lot, a lot. If someone had told me to retire, maybe I’m done.”
In the women’s doubles, seventh seeds Chan Hao-ching of Taiwan and Veronika Kudermetova of Russia advanced to the quarter-finals when their opponents Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic and Badosa pulled out.
Additional reporting by staff writer
Omar Marmoush’s stunning long-range strike on Tuesday upstaged Kevin de Bruyne on the Manchester City great’s Etihad farewell. Marmoush let fly from about 30m to put City ahead in their 3-1 win against AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League. The victory moved Pep Guardiola’s team up to third in the standings and left qualification for the UEFA Champions League in their own hands heading into the last round of the season. “It’s really important. To be in the Champions League after what happened [this season] will be really nice,” the City manager said. De Bruyne was making his final home appearance for City before
TIGHT FINISH: Napoli only needed to do the same as or better than Inter, who won their game against Como 2-0 on the same day, leaving Napoli with a one-point lead The two players who Antonio Conte wanted more than any others secured Napoli their second Serie A title in three years on Friday. Scott McTominay scored with an acrobatic bicycle kick before halftime and Romelu Lukaku doubled the lead with a solo goal after the break in the decisive 2-0 home win over Cagliari. Conte became the first coach to win the Italian championship with three different teams. “Everyone contributed to this — but the coach most of all,” Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo said. “Napoli needed him to get back on top. He’s phenomenal.” Comparing it to his three Serie A titles won
The journey of Taiwan’s badminton mixed doubles duo Ye Hong-wei and Nicole Chan at the Malaysia Masters in Kuala Lumpur came to an end in the semi-finals yesterday after they suffered a 2-0 loss to China’s Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping. Ye, 25, and Chan, 20, teamed up last year and are currently ranked No. 23 in the world. The Taiwanese shuttlers took on China’s second seeds in the mixed doubles event, but proved no match for Feng and Huang, losing the match 10-21, 7-21. In the first half of the first game, the pairings were neck and neck at 6-7 until Ye
SSC Napoli coach Antonio Conte has dragged the team back from disaster and restored them to the top of Italian Serie A, but his future at the Scudetto winners is in doubt even after a triumphant season. The fiery 55-year-old has exceeded preseason expectations and bolstered his reputation as a serial winner by guiding Napoli to their fourth Scudetto, and second in three seasons. However, he might well be on his way in the summer after just one season at the helm as his charged relationship with Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis has simmered throughout the campaign. Conte has said
RSS