BEIJING — 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.
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“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.”
Novak Djokovic won the men’s title last week after an injured Alex de Minaur couldn’t finish their match.
The 39-year-old Djokovic won 7-6 (3), 0-1 and extended his perfect record at the China Open to 34-0.
His seventh China Open title was also his 102nd on the ATP tour. He’s one behind Roger Federer. Jimmy Connors leads with 109 in the Open era.
The win puts the Serbian legend at No. 9 in the latest rankings for the Nitto ATP Finals next month in Turin. The top eight players will advance, with No. 1-ranked Alexander Zverev leading the pack.
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