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zheng qinwen in the competition on september 3.

on september 3, in the women's singles quarter-finals of the 2024 us open, china's "golden flower" zheng qinwen lost to the no. 2 seed, belarusian star sabalenka 1:6, 2:6 and missed the us open semi-finals.

the "tough girl" sabalenka was in hot form at this year's us open, losing only one set in five matches. data shows that sabalenka's average forehand speed reached 80 miles per hour, surpassing all the top male players in this tournament and ranking first. although zheng qinwen had lost both of her previous matches against sabalenka, she played in style and showed her tenacity that day. in this match, zheng qinwen hit 5 aces (points scored directly from serve without the opponent touching the ball), and her first serve scoring rate was 74%, both of which were higher than sabalenka's.

in the first set, sabalenka won a series of serve and broke the opponent's serve to establish a 3:0 lead. zheng qinwen won four points in the second service game and won a game, but failed to disrupt sabalenka's control of the game. under her "blitzkrieg" strategy, the average round of the two players did not exceed 3 shots, and zheng qinwen's advantage at the baseline was not brought into play. then, sabalenka won three games in a row and won the first set in the 35th minute.

in the second set, sabalenka made great progress, breaking the serve first and holding the serve. zheng qinwen gradually adjusted his state, and the landing point of the return ball became deeper, realizing the dispatch of sabalenka, and holding the serve in the second service game. but sabalenka broke and held the serve, and once again expanded her lead to 5:1. facing the opponent's strong offensive, zheng qinwen scored consecutive points with high-quality first serve in the seventh game, and won a game with an ace, but he was still unable to reverse the decline and eventually lost the game 2:6.

"i felt a little tired today and my serve was not ideal. the last game ended very late, and i didn't get enough sleep and didn't train yesterday. although the score difference in this game was more significant, i felt that my control of the ball today was better than the previous two times (against sabalenka). unfortunately, i failed to grasp some key points." zheng qinwen said after the game.

"next time against sabalenka, i think i should play more rounds and keep a more relaxed mentality. i was obviously a little nervous today. although she is a very strong seeded player, she also made some mistakes today." zheng qinwen said.

"after today, i will forget about this match, move on and focus on the upcoming chinese season." zheng qinwen said that she is looking forward to participating in the wuhan open in her hometown. "the last time i played in wuhan open, i was a qualifier. this year is my first time to participate in the main draw as a seeded player. i am looking forward to what will happen then."

zheng qinwen in the competition on september 3.

source | xinhua news agency