Chinese tennis starlet Zheng Qinwen entered the Pan Pacific Open semi-finals on Friday after defeating Canada’s Leylah Fernandez 6-0, 1-6, 6-3. Fresh off her history-making Olympic gold victory in Paris, the 22-year-old admitted that she has struggled with motivation since receiving a hero’s welcome back in China.
Next up is Russia’s sixth seed Diana Shnaider. Zheng reflected on the massive expectations which had come after her Olympic success: “After China, with big expectations and lots of pressure, it was tough to find motivation, she said, referring to her previous struggles after the Australian Open final loss back in January.
Zheng was off to a dream start, bossing Fernandez around in a perfect first set before losing steam in the second. She regained composure in the decider to seal her sixth semi-final of a breakthrough year. “I’m happy I could push myself and get the win despite not feeling highly motivated,” Zheng said.
Her route to Tokyo included a runners-up finish to Aryna Sabalenka at the Wuhan Open, long after the Olympic win’s importance finally fell into place. The first meeting between both now comes on Saturday, while Britain’s Katie Boulter faces American Sofia Kenin in the other semi-final.
