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10moon3on the same day, the applause at the diamond court of the national tennis center rang out again for the 35-year-old veteran zhang shuai.

in the women's singles quarter-finals of the china open, zhang shuai unfortunately lost, but her tenacity on the court won applause from the audience. the winning spanish player badosa said to zhang shuai after the game, "you must never retire."

applause to the veteran

in the "blessed land" of china open, zhang shuai, who participated as a wild card, regained the feeling of winning in singles. in the first round, she defeated american player kessler, and was upset in the second round.6no. 1 seed navarro. after that, she continued her winning streak, winning against mineen and fletcher successively, and reached the quarterfinals of the china open women's singles again after six years.

facing badosa in this game, zhang shuai could not find the rhythm in the opening game. his serve was broken continuously and ended with1compare6throw away a plate quickly. in the second set, zhang shuai gradually adapted to his opponent's style of play and took the lead in breaking serve. after withstanding badosa's counterattack, she stubbornly dragged the game into a tiebreaker. unfortunately, zhang shuai eventually lost the game as he made a mistake in returning the ball.

when zhang shuai left the field with his ball bag on his back, the audience stood up and gave bursts of applause to pay tribute to the veteran. at this year's china open, zhang shuai proved with practical actions that he still has the strength to stand in a high-level singles arena.

after the game, badosa praised zhang shuai as a very good player, "i know she has experienced many difficult moments, but she is still tenacious and always has a smile on her face. she played very well today.”

at the press conference, zhang shuai admitted that during the past period, many players and coaches told him not to retire. "i'm very grateful to badosa for encouraging me like this, especially after such a very fierce duel. in fact, these girls are very kind-hearted. although we didn't communicate much before going on the field, we will give them the best at the end of the game. bless each other. these players and coaches are the most professional and knowledgeable about the game. i think i will listen to them and continue to play.”

continue to attack singles

thanks to his good performance in the women's singles at the china open, zhang shuai's real-time singles world ranking has risen to250position, compared with before the start of the game595position has been greatly improved. this also gives her more confidence.

"my goals are always very clear." zhang shuai said, now it is time to fight for his return to the world in singles.200name, so as to have the opportunity to participate in the qualifying rounds of the grand slam. "i don't want to focus on doubles, which is why i train hard every day. i just hope to improve my singles ranking. my doubles goal is to win the grand slam doubles or mixed doubles championship."

according to the plan, zhang shuai will move to the wuhan tennis open, which is the last event she can participate in by virtue of her protected ranking. after that, she may face the situation of starting from lower-level events, and her points will increase more slowly.

“i will try my best at wuhan and see how far i can go. i am still waiting for news about ningbo, guangzhou and other sub-stations to see if i can get a wild card. if not, i will play doubles with yang zhaoxuan. i want to work hard to help her find more confidence and the feeling of winning. because i might have a little more experience in this area and see what i can do for the younger players.”zhang shuai said, no matter what kind of competition, i will try my best.

source: beijing news sports

reporter: zhuoran