China's Zheng Qinwen defeats world No.1 Sabalenka for the first time to reach semifinals of Italian Open

China's tennis ace Zheng Qinwen defeated top seed Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets on Thursday (Beijing Time) to reach the semifinals of the WTA 1000 Italian Open for the third time in her career. This victory also marked Zheng’s first-ever win over Sabalenka, who had won all six of their previous encounters. This was their first meeting on clay.

“Finally, I broke through! I’ve always believed I have what it takes to beat anyone, and I’m so happy I made it happen today,” Zheng said in her post-match interview.

In the first three games of the opening set, both players held serve, with Sabalenka leading 2-1. Zheng saved two break points in the fourth game to hold serve, then broke Sabalenka at love in the fifth game. The two players traded holds over the next four games, with Zheng leading 5-4. In the tenth game, Zheng fired two aces and closed the set at 6-4.

In the second set, Zheng Qinwen kept up the momentum by breaking Sabalenka’s serve in the opening game and then winning the second game with four straight points. Over the next four games, both players held serve, with Zheng maintaining a 4-2 lead. Sabalenka fought hard to hold in the seventh game, saving four break points to stay in the match, but Zheng remained composed and sealed the victory 6-3 with a hold and a final break.

“When the match gets tighter, I feel it plays to my advantage because I’m better at longer rallies,” Zheng reflected. “Once the points go into three or four shots, the stats show I have the upper hand.”

“In the past, when I played her, I struggled to see things clearly—partly because of her No.1 ranking and Grand Slam titles, and partly because I grew up watching her play,” she added.

Zheng said it was only after removing the “halo” around her opponent that she could assess the situation more clearly and exploit Sabalenka’s weaknesses to her advantage.

Zheng will next face world No.3, American star Coco Gauff. The 21-year-old American, who had cruised past Britain’s Emma Raducanu on Monday, continued her strong clay court form with a 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) win over seventh seed Mirra Andreeva.