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You probably pencilled in Sabalenka at the beginning of the tournament. And she’s played like a queen, not dropping a set, screaming those winners into the far corners, her mental strength now as reliable as her grunts of effort. She played three major finals in the last year – losing the US Open against Coco Gauff just a few months ago, incidentally beating Zheng in the quarter final on her way there.
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Zheng, the number 12 seed, is very much the underdog, but she too has a dream – never underestimate a dream – and that’s to emulate her heroine Li Na, who was the last Chinese player to win a major in 2014 when she beat Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) to take the Australian Open title. Her path through this competition has been helped by the scything of the seeds early on, but her tennis has been classy, her forehand formidable, and her composure admirable. May the best woman win!
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important events
This is Zheng's first Grand Slam final. – Eurosport refers to her home final as the Asia-Pacific Grand Slam. Please expect lots of support from the audience.
There seems to be a lot of support for Mr. Chung. In Melbourne, a Chinese flag flashed large and red outside the arena.
John McEnroe “She has to make the most of her movements. She moves better than Sabalenka.” She hits more aces than anyone, but she also hits more doubles. She's hitting, she needs to step back a little bit, she needs to make sure that the probability of serving is good, because if Sabalenka starts thinking about the second serve, she will. [I miss the end of the sentence but it is something like licking her lips.”]
If Sabalenka If she wins today, she will become the first woman to regain the title in Melbourne since Victoria Azarenka in 2012 and 2013. But while the pressure may have been overwhelming in the past, she has matured and her experience has grown over the past year.
“When you get to the finals for about the third time, you're like, 'OK, it's the finals, it's okay,'” she said. “It's just another game and you can separate yourself from that game. Focus on your game. That's really all there is to it.
“I think I'm pretty calm on the inside, just like I am on the outside. I'm the defending champion, but in the worst case scenario, I could lose this tournament and have fewer points to defend next year. It is the end.
“It kind of helps you just stay focused and just do your best in each game without thinking about defending anything.”
Cameras have arrived at Rod Laver Arena. A sneak peek behind the scenes shows Sabalenka stretching her Amazonian limbs and Zheng lifting weights. This is Mr. Zheng's profile by Tumaini Karayolu, who was at the scene.
this was a sweet moment At the beginning of the tournament, when Zheng Qinwen met the heroine Li Na for the first time.
This makes me very happy.
Li Na surprises Zheng Qinwen during the interview.pic.twitter.com/UVRi9K5BGN
— Tennis Podcast (@TennisPodcast) January 20, 2024
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preamble
Hello! are you ready? Here we are after two interesting weeks of tennis in the Melbourne sun. The women's final between reigning champion Aryna Sabalenka and Zheng Qinwen will kick off at 8:30pm Japan time.
Probably penciled in Sabalenka at the beginning of the tournament. And she played like a queen, never dropping her set, screaming a winner all the way to the far corner, now her mental strength is as reliable as her moans of effort. I am. She appeared in three major finals last year, losing to Coco Gauff at the US Open just a few months ago before defeating Zheng in the quarterfinals.
The 12th seed Zheng is a true underdog, but she also has a dream – never underestimate a dream – to become the last Chinese player to win a major by defeating the Dominicans in 2014. It is to imitate the heroine Lee Na. Cibulkova (SVK) wins the Australian Open. Her path through this tournament has been helped by her early seeding, but her tennis has been classy, her forehand formidable and her composure admirable. May the best woman win!
