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10/11 11:02 CDT Olympic champion Zheng beats Andreeva in China Open final for
first title win in 2 years
Olympic champion Zheng beats Andreeva in China Open final for first title win
in 2 years
BEIJING (AP) --- Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen won her first title in two years
by beating French Open champion Mirra Andreeva 7-5, 6-4 in the China Open final
on Sunday.
Zheng clinched with her first match point chance, serving an ace to Andreeva's
backhand side, then fell to the court sobbing with emotion.
Zheng's ranking plummeted due to an elbow injury from a career-high No. 4 last
year to 160 this season. She was No. 54 coming into her home tournament as a
wild card this week and will now return to the top 30, the WTA said.
"I've been through a very tough year," Zheng said in English in a trophy
presentation that had a touch of karaoke. She sang a pop song to roars of
appreciation from fans in the arena.
A stellar 2024 saw Zheng reach the final of the Australian Open, win the Paris
Olympics singles title at Roland Garros, then in October take a fifth career
title on the WTA tour in Japan.
As a qualifier at the U.S. Open in August, Zheng showed her old form was back
when she advanced to the quarterfinals, having twice rallied from 5-0 deficits
in matches she won against Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek.
Despite the loss, Andreeva is set to rise to a career-high No. 3 ranking. She
held three points to win the first set Sunday, leading 5-4, before Zheng reeled
off 11 straight points to clinch the set.
"For sure today she played great," Andreeva said of Zheng. "It's also very nice
to see her playing better and coming back."
___
See AP's full tennis coverage here
