Translation:
The annual Australian Open will open this Sunday, and due to Zheng Qinwen's championship-winning capabilities, domestic attention is very high. For this reason, CCTV has also spent a lot of money to purchase the broadcasting rights for the Australian Open, with live broadcasts throughout the event.
According to the schedule, the Australian Open will hold its draw ceremony at 11:30 am on January 9th, which is today. The top 32 seeds in the women's singles have been announced early, with the top 8 seeds as follows:
- Sabalenka
- Swiatek
- Gauff
- Boulter
- Zheng Qinwen
- Rybakina
- Pegula
- Navarro
According to the rules, the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds enter the upper and lower halves respectively, then the No. 3 seed and the No. 4 seed draw lots, randomly placed in the upper and lower halves, respectively in the 2/4 area and the 3/4 area, and so on for the No. 5 to No. 8 seeds and the No. 9 to No. 16 seeds.
In other words, Sabalenka and Swiatek avoid each other in advance, guarding the upper and lower halves respectively. Whether Gauff and Boulter are in the same half needs to be determined by drawing lots, as well as where Zheng Qinwen, Rybakina, Pegula, and Navarro fall into which half and which division, which is also decided by drawing lots.
Last year at the Australian Open, Zheng Qinwen reached the final but unfortunately lost to Sabalenka and finished as the runner-up, still creating her best Grand Slam record. After a year, she has returned to continue her pursuit of the championship.
Due to her championship competitiveness not being as strong as Sabalenka, Swiatek, and Gauff, Zheng Qinwen needs to rely on a bit of luck to go further in the Australian Open, which is to avoid Sabalenka, Swiatek, and Gauff in the 1/4 division. If she encounters any of them, Zheng Qinwen will face the top three championship favorites in the quarterfinals, at most reaching the quarterfinals, which is considered an unfavorable draw.
Therefore, Zheng Qinwen's best position should be to draw the No. 4 seed Boulter, who has lost all four matches against Zheng Qinwen.
This year's Australian Open has already announced the prize distribution plan, with a total of 96.5 million Australian dollars (about 430 million RMB), an increase of 11.56% from last year. There is also 132,000 Australian dollars for the first round of the singles main draw, equivalent to about 600,000 RMB. The eventual champion can receive a prize of 3.5 million Australian dollars (about 15.92 million RMB).
Based on Zheng Qinwen's current form and strength, she can at least reach the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. The real challenge lies in the semifinals, finals, and championship.
