The Australian Open tennis tournament is in full swing, and while Chinese players are no longer visible in the men's and women's singles events, there is still hope for a championship run in the doubles competition. In a recent women's doubles match, the Chinese pair of Wang Xinyu and Zheng Saisai faced off against the international team of Ena Shibahara from Japan and Veronika Kudermetova from Russia. After two intense sets, they emerged victorious with a 2-0 scoreline, securing their place in the round of 16.
In the first set, Wang Xinyu and Zheng Saisai started strong, quickly getting into the game and not giving their opponents any chance to counterattack. Shibahara and Kudermetova were caught off guard, and Wang Xinyu and Zheng Saisai capitalized on this, launching a fierce offensive that widened the gap in scores. They ultimately won the first set 6-1.
In the second set, Shibahara and Kudermetova, who had an unfavorable start, made timely adjustments and launched a strong counterattack. Wang Xinyu and Zheng Saisai initially struggled to adapt to their opponents' attacking rhythm, allowing Shibahara and Kudermetova to break serve and hold, taking a temporary lead of 3-0. However, Wang Xinyu and Zheng Saisai were not to be outdone; they reduced their own errors and intensified their offense, achieving good results and leveling the score at 5-5. In the end, they stabilized the situation, broke serve and held, winning the second set 7-5 and advancing to the next round.
It's worth noting that Wang Xinyu's doubles prowess is quite strong; she even partnered with Zhang Zhizhen to win a silver medal in the mixed doubles event at the Paris Olympics! Interestingly, Wang Xinyu's qualification for the mixed doubles event at the Paris Olympics had an element of surprise. Initially, Zhang Zhizhen's mixed doubles partner was supposed to be Zheng Qinwen, but she temporarily gave up the mixed doubles to focus on the women's singles.
Wang Xinyu, unaware of this change, had already bought her plane ticket to return home when she was notified by the coaching staff that she could participate in the mixed doubles event. Thus, Wang Xinyu and Zhang Zhizhen formed a temporary partnership in the mixed doubles, overcoming obstacles to reach the final. Although they did not win the gold in the final, they did secure a silver medal, which came as a surprise to everyone. Additionally, Wang Xinyu is also very talented in singles play, and given time, she has the potential to become the next big name in Chinese tennis, akin to Zheng Qinwen.