China’s ‘Queen Wen’ sets up Australian Open semi-final with Yastremska
CHINESE 12th seed Zheng Qinwen came from a set down to beat unseeded Russian Anna Kalinskaya at the Australian Open yesterday, setting up a semi-final clash against Ukrainian qualifier Dayana Yastremska.
The 21-year-old, known to her fans as “Queen Wen”, had never progressed beyond the quarter-finals in eight previous Grand Slam appearances, but held her nerve to win 6-7 (4/7) 6-3 6-1 in two hours and 20 minutes.
“In the first set, we had a big competition and the match was really tough for me,” she said.
“I just told myself to stay focused, not think any more about the first set, and I’m so happy right now – like really excited.”
The players secured two breaks apiece in a tight first set on Rod Laver Arena, but neither was able to make a decisive move and it went to a tie-break, where Kalinskaya dug deeper.
The Russian won 41 points in the opener – just one more than Zheng.
The match followed a similar pattern in the second set, with nothing to separate them until Zheng broke in the eighth game when Kalinskaya dumped a forehand into the net.
Zheng sealed the set in the next game with an ace.
The Chinese star broke twice to lead 4-1 in the deciding set as the match quickly drifted away from Kalinskaya, who received treatment to her right leg during a medical timeout.
It proved to be a temporary stay of execution for the 25-year-old, who lost the final two games to sink to defeat.
Victory means Zheng will move into the top 10 for the first time when the rankings are published after the Australian Open.
“That’s good news for me, another motivation and especially I said last year at the Australian Open I wanted to be top 10, and one year later, I’m here,” she said. “It’s an amazing moment.”
Yastremska said her mission at the
Australian Open was to show pride in her war-torn home after becoming just the second women’s qualifier in the Open Era to reach the semi-finals in Melbourne.
The world No 93 broke three times to beat unseeded Czech Linda Noskova 6-3 6-4 in 78 minutes.
Yastremska is the first women’s qualifier to reach the last four at the season-opening Grand Slam since Australia’s Christine Matison in 1978.
“It’s nice to make history, because at that time I wasn’t even born,” she said.
The 23-year-old wrote a message of support for Ukrainian fighters involved in the war against Russia on a TV camera lens after her win.
“I’m very proud of them,” she said. “They really deserve huge respect. I always try to write something for Ukraine, about Ukraine.
“I think it’s my mission here. If I do well, I can get … tough to express. I’m just trying to give the signal to Ukraine that I’m really proud of it.” | AFP