Qinwen and her most desired triumph: "She may have had too much respect for it at first"

Fernando Murciego | 14 May 2025 | 22.12

Qinwen Zheng reveals the keys to her first victory over Sabalenka. Source: Getty

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Things did not go well for Qinwen Zheng at the Mutua Madrid Open, but that reality has wildly changed upon her arrival at the WTA 1000 in Rome. Already in the semifinals, the Chinese had to defeat her nemesis in the locker room to reach the final four in the draw. None other than Aryna Sabalenka, a woman who had beaten her in all previous six encounters, but no one defeats the Asian player seven times in a row. Once the goal was achieved, the current World No. 8 spoke to journalists to share her analysis of this day that she will not soon forget.

A highly desired triumph

"I am very happy with this victory, I had been trying to beat her on the court for a long time. There were some times when I was close, but I had never achieved it until now. Also, this is the first time we faced each other on clay, I suppose playing on this surface makes me much more comfortable, as I have great experience on clay courts. The conditions suited me well, I was more patient than her, today I realized that when I make her play a lot... Well, I am very happy with my performance, happy to have taken the step forward by defeating the World No. 1."

The key to success

"First of all, I kept telling myself over and over that I should not give her a single point. I know that when the rally gets longer, once we pass 4-5 shots, my benefits increase. When I look at the statistics, I am always there, maybe because on clay, the game becomes much more physical, perhaps that's why I have an advantage. I remember in other matches with her, especially at the beginning, I would always give her easy initial games, she would start with a 3-0 or 4-0 lead. Today when I stepped onto the court, I knew I had to be there, hold my serve, and make sure the match wasn't fast. It seems the tactic worked: when I truly commit to the game, I feel that I start to see everything more clearly, I know where I have to play."

Confidence heading into Roland Garros

"I am usually a very confident player, no matter if I have a bad performance at times. I know that if I am focused, if I am truly there and want to achieve it, I will. Maybe at the beginning, I respected her too much, I remember watching her play since she was 14-15 years old, I didn't face her as a regular player. I saw her live at the China Open 2017, where she reached the final, that day my father told me: 'You need to learn a lot from her, her forehand, her backhand.' That kind of respect took me some time to treat her like a normal player, so today I am happy I kept calm and did what I had to do."

Not in Madrid, but in Rome

"In Madrid, I felt like I was rushing everywhere, unable to stay calm on the court, unable to face the situations. After Madrid, I thought I should be much more stable on clay, also off the court, controlling situations under pressure has always yielded good results for me. If I have ups and downs in training, I feel like I won't go anywhere important, although today I admit she was very close to turning it around in the second set. I am very happy I maintained that pressure and won the match, but it wasn't easy."

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Qinwen y su triunfo más deseado: “Puede que al principio le tuviera demasiado respeto”