Zheng Qinwen wins; will play Zhu in the Zhuhai semifinals
China's top player will compete in the semifinals of the Huafa Technology WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai after Zheng Qinwen edged Jelena Ostapenko
The 2022 WTA Newcomer of the Year, Zheng is one of two Chinese players to reach the semifinals. Zhu Lin, a wild card, qualified as the semifinalist out of the Rose Group after Veronika Kudermetova
Zheng improved to 3-0 all-time against Ostapenko with the two-hour win in which she hit 11 aces and won the last four games. The Zhengzhou champion has now won her past seven matches and won both of her group stage matches in Zhuhai in three sets.
How the match was won: A five-deuce game on Ostapenko's serve set the tone for the match, as Zheng broke serve on her fourth break point.
The World No.18 ultimately broke serve four times in the match -- twice in each set set won -- despite winning just six points in Ostapenko's four service games in the middle set.
The first five games of the final set went with serve, and a three-deuce sixth game on Ostapenko's delivery swung the set in Zheng's favor.
The Chinese No.1 moves on in Zhuhai!
— wta (@WTA) October 27, 2023
[7] Zheng defeats Ostapenko in three sets to advance to the semifinals 🔜#WTAEliteTrophy pic.twitter.com/r84tkCNdef
Zheng and Zhu will now play each other in pursuit of becoming the second Chinese player to reach the final in Zhuhai after Wang Qiang was runner-up to Ashleigh Barty in 2019.
The pair have never played at tour level, but Zhu was a 6-0, 6-1 winner over a 15-year-old Zheng at an ITF World Tennis Tour $60,000 event in Jinan, China back in 2018 -- in what was just the sixth event of Zheng's professional career.
