By Ian Ransom
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – There seemed a touch of destiny when Zheng Qinwen made the Australian Open final last year a decade after trailblazing compatriot Li Na hoisted the women’s trophy.
Zheng ended up crushed by nemesis Aryna Sabalenka in the decider but this year will hope to go one better and join Li as the second Chinese player to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Li’s achievements gave rise to predictions of Chinese superpowerdom in women’s tennis fuelled by a generation of young girls inspired to pick up rackets.
Ten years on from the twice Grand Slam champion’s retirement it has not quite come to pass but China is well-represented at the highest levels, with four women in the top 100.
Zheng, ranked fifth in the world and seeded fifth at Melbourne Park, is the standout among them.
Having won the Olympic singles gold medal in Paris, a prize that eluded Li, Zheng has shown she has the head-game to match the raw power to win on the biggest stages.
Her background and playing style inevitably draw comparisons with two-times Grand Slam champion Li.
She was born in Li’s home province of Hubei and trained in her hometown Wuhan.
Like Li, she boarded at a sports school from a tender age as standard for talented child athletes in China.
She later honed her game at a Beijing tennis academy under Carlos Rodriguez who coached Li to the Australian Open title and her peak world ranking of number two.
A couple of inches taller than Li, she wields a similarly powerful forehand.
The pair first met in person during the last Australian Open when Li snuck up on Zheng during a video interview at Melbourne Park and cheekily slapped her behind.
“I was feeling super happy to meet her and have the chance to talk with her,” said Zheng.
“I feel she’s much more beautiful than when I saw her on TV before.”
FAST TRACK
Late-blooming Li was 28 when she made her first Grand Slam final at the 2011 Australian Open, overhauled by Kim Clijsters.
It took another two finals before she broke through by beating Dominika Cibulkova in 2014.
By that time, she was an established fan favourite, embraced by the Melbourne crowds for her chutzpah and sense of humour.
Similar acclaim beckons for Zheng, who is on a much faster track than Li.
Zheng was 21 when she made last year’s final and has her whole career ahead of her.
The Sabalenka defeat was a reality check for the young up-and-comer who avoided playing a single seeded player in her run to the decider.
Her mental strength was questioned as she crashed out of the first round at Wimbledon with a shock defeat by New Zealand qualifier Lulu Sun, following a third round exit at the French Open.
The second half of the season was a dream, though, as she shrugged off Wimbledon with a 12-match winning streak on clay to secure the gold at Paris after clinching the title in Palermo.
Her hard court swing was also impressive, including a run to the U.S. Open quarter-finals and another title in Tokyo before signing off with a runner-up finish at the WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia.
Queries of her record against top 10 players have been silenced with wins over five-times Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek at the Olympics and Italian break-out star Jasmine Paolini at the WTA Finals.
Sabalenka remains a problem, though; the world number one has a 5-0 record over Zheng and knocked her out of both the U.S. Open and the final of her home tournament in Wuhan.
Zheng vowed to return stronger to Melbourne Park after last year’s final defeat by Sabalenka and has done just that.
Whether she is strong enough to take down the big Belarusian and double-defending champion remains to be seen.
Zheng blamed a sleepless night for her loss to Sabalenka at Flushing Meadows and a fever at Wuhan.
Sabalenka sees her domination in simpler terms.
“I think (it’s) my mental strength,” Sabalenka said after beating Zheng at the WTA Finals.
“That’s the advantage over her so far.”
(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
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