On January 19, 2025, Beijing time, good news came from the Australian Open. Due to the withdrawal of the No. 4 seeds Townsend/Nees before the match, Chinese 36-year-old veteran Zhang Shuai and Bopanna directly advanced to the mixed doubles quarterfinals, making Zhang Shuai the first Chinese player to reach the quarterfinals at this event.
The elimination of China's top player Zheng Qinwen in the second round was a cold surprise, causing many fans to be very sad and instantly lose interest in the Australian Open.
At this moment, veteran Zhang Shuai stepped up, frequently advancing in both doubles and mixed doubles, bringing good news. Currently, she has partnered with French star Meladonovic to reach the round of 16 in women's doubles, and now mixed doubles has also advanced to the quarterfinals first, advancing on two fronts, which has also rekindled the enthusiasm of fans for watching the game.
Zhang Shuai's next opponent in women's doubles is the combination of Zhan Haoqing and Kichenok, and the winner will advance to the quarterfinals.
Zhang Shuai and Meladonovic reached the final last year at the US Open under unfavorable circumstances, but eventually lost narrowly and missed the championship.
This time, the two continued to partner in the Australian Open. In the first round, they experienced a three-set battle and narrowly defeated the combination of Rus and Kessler with a score of 5-7, 6-3, 7-5 to advance. The second round was won very easily, defeating the combination of Sterns and Stefanini with a score of 6-2, 6-2 to advance.
We also believe that Zhang Shuai and Meladonovic will definitely create excellent results in the Australian Open, after all, the two have also been champions of the Australian Open women's doubles, with certain strength and experience.
In the first round of mixed doubles, Zhang Shuai and Bopanna defeated the combination of Meladonovic and Dodig 6-4, 6-4 to advance. They were lucky to advance to the quarterfinals in the second round due to their opponents' withdrawal. Who knows if they might win the championship in the end?
In another just-concluded women's doubles third-round match, Chinese player Guo Hanyu partnered with Panova to fight for more than three hours, losing 5-7, 6-4, 6-7 to the combination of Ruse and Kostyuk, missing the quarterfinals.
There are still Wang Xinyu and Zheng Saisai on the women's doubles court. They are currently playing in the second round. Whether they can advance to the round of 16 remains to be seen.
Born in 1989, Zhang Shuai experienced the golden generation of Li Na and Zheng Jie, then the middle generation of Wang Qiang, Wang Yafan, and Zhu Lin, and now the younger generation of Zheng Qinwen, Wang Xinyu, etc. Zhang Shuai really loves the tennis career.
Although she has experienced multiple injuries and an embarrassing record of 24 consecutive singles defeats, she has also experienced the joy of winning Grand Slam championships and has won three WTA singles titles, reaching a highest world ranking of 22nd.
Such a Zhang Shuai, one word, awesome.