Qinwen Zheng przechodzi do historii, zdobywając dla Chin złoto igrzysk olimpijskich po łatwym zwycięstwie Donny Vekic
Qinwen Zheng won gold at the Olympics (Image: Getty)
Qinwen Zheng made Olympic tennis history as she won a gold medal for China, extending her nation’s lead atop the table in Paris.
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The 21-year-old became the first Chinese man or woman ever to win a singles medal in the tennis event, beating Donna Vekic of Croatia 6-2 6-3.
Court Philippe-Chatrier was decked out in Chinese flags as the fans came out to cheer Zheng on after the 21-year-old stunned world No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the semi-final. But the Croats in the crowd made themselves heard despite being outnumbered in the flag competition, starting their chants for Vekic during the coin toss.
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No. 6 seed Zheng looking to extend China’s lead at the top of the medal table. But Vekic – whose dog had made the trip to Paris to be in the city for the biggest match of her career – stood in her way. After reaching the Wimbledon semi-final last month, the Croatian continued her memorable summer at the Games, knocking out No. 2 seed Coco Gauff during her run to the final.
Both women could sense the huge opportunity on the line and there were signs of early nerves. Vekic hit three unforced errors in her opening service game to give the No. 6 seed an immediate chance to break. And another mistake from the 28-year-old’s racket gifted Zheng the lead.
But the Australian Open finalist was also feeling the heat and found herself facing two break points. But she kept the world No. 21 at bay and took a 3-0 lead. Vekic finally got on the board after 22 minutes and Zheng’s back was against the wall again, facing another break point.
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Donna Vekic won silver while Iga Swiatek took home a bronze medal (Image: Getty)
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Vekic managed to return a smash but the Chinese star saved it with a drop shot and signalled to the crowd, asking for even more support. She took it and ran with it, causing Vekic more problems as the Croatian served to stay in the set. Vekic had a game point to keep herself alive but Zheng landed a forehand winner perfectly on the line.
The umpire ran down to the court to confirm that it was in and boos rang out around the stadium as Vekic protested it. The 28-year-old looked dejected as things kept going the way of her opponent and she was broken again with Zheng taking the opener 6-2 in 48 minutes.
Vekic was in more trouble early in the second, giving Zheng a break point with a double fault. The No. 6 seed pounced, hitting her eighth winner of the match to extend her lead. But just as the gold medal started to slip through Vekic’s fingers, she finally converted a break point at the fourth time of asking.
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Qinwen Zheng is China’s first ever medallist in the in the tennis singles event (Image: Getty)
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She had to work hard to keep Zheng at bay, From 40-0 up, Vekic was dragged into a marathon game but made it out unscathed and drew level at 2-2. The Chinese star suddenly found herself in the same position but, like her opponent, she held on.
With the gold medal just two games away, Zheng sensed an opportunity. It took four break points but she delivered the crucial blow, giving herself the chance to serve it out. And a forehand winner sealed her fate as tennis’ latest gold medallist.
It’s China’s second medal at the tennis in Paris, as Xinyu Wang and Zhizhen Zhang won silver in the mixed doubles on Friday night. And Zheng went one better, getting her nation a second tennis gold medal after Li Ting and Sun Tian-Tian’s women’s doubles victory at Athens 2004.
“Today I handled it really well. I just kept calm, always knowing what is my situation. I’m so happy with my mental stability today,” Zheng later said. ” I always want to become better but after this gold medal I feel, finally, I can play tennis more relaxed.”
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