On January 19, 2025, Beijing time, the second round of the Australian Open women's doubles just concluded. The Chinese tennis duo, Zheng Saisai and Wang Xinyu, performed outstandingly. They did not give up even when they were trailing 0-3, eventually saving match points. They successfully reversed the No. 11 seed Kudermatova/Sugiyama with a total score of 2-0, winning 6-1, 7-5, and advanced to the Australian Open Round of 16, causing a major upset.
After advancing to the Round of 16, Wang Xinyu and Zheng Saisai earned 240 world ranking points, with Wang Xinyu's world ranking reaching 51st and Zheng Saisai's reaching 60th.
Kudermatova is a Russian player ranked 15th in the world, while Sugiyama is a Japanese player ranked 52nd in the world.
This was the first encounter between the two pairs. Before the game, the official favored the international pair to win, somewhat underestimating the Chinese pair.
The match lasted a total of 1 hour and 29 minutes. The Wang Xinyu pair served 2 aces, made 3 double faults, had a first serve success rate of 69%, a first serve point rate of 73%, a second serve point rate of 50%, broke serve 4 times, had a break point conversion rate of 44%, scored 14 winners, and a total of 75 points.
The Kudermatova pair made 4 double faults, had a first serve point rate of 72%, a first serve point rate of 55%, a second serve point rate of 39%, a break point conversion rate of 25%, scored 16 winners, and a total of 55 points.
First set: The Wang Xinyu and Zheng Saisai pair quickly entered the state, breaking and holding serve to lead 3-0. In the fourth game, the Kudermatova pair struggled to hold serve. Subsequently, the game entered the rhythm of Wang Xinyu and Zheng Saisai, who won three consecutive games to take the first set 6-1 powerfully.
Second set: The Kudermatova pair took the initiative first, winning three consecutive games to lead 3-0. At this moment, Wang Xinyu and Zheng Saisai did not give up the game, but played more steadily, fighting for every point to win nine consecutive points, breaking and holding serve to level the score at 3-3.
In the seventh game, the Kudermatova pair easily held serve, with the Chinese pair trailing 4-5. In the eighth game, it was the Chinese pair's serve, being forced into two break points, which were also match points. The Chinese pair gritted their teeth and persisted, eventually saving two match points to hold serve with difficulty, leveling the score at 5-5 and not dragging the game into a decisive set.
In the eleventh game, the Chinese pair successfully broke serve 6-5 to enter their own serve-to-win game. Trailing 0-15, they finally reversed the situation to win 7-5 and confidently advanced to the Australian Open Round of 16.
In the Round of 16, they will face Rakhimova/Tomo, with hopes of advancing to the quarterfinals.
Since Zheng Saisai's return from injury, she has been partnering with Wang Xinyu, and it is quite remarkable that she has been able to recover so quickly. On the singles court, however, she has been on a losing streak. As the French Open women's doubles champion, Wang Xinyu is still very capable.
Thus, in the Australian Open women's doubles Round of 16, Zhang Shuai and Meladonovic have also advanced, along with Wang Xinyu and Zheng Saisai, giving China two pairs vying for the Australian Open championship!