Ruthless Zheng reaches first career quarterfinal at Australian Open
Qinwen Zheng of China in action during her 4th round match against Oceane Dodin of France at the 2024 Australian Open in Melbourne, Australia, 22 January 2024.
China's top-ranked player Zheng Qinwen raced into her first Australian Open quarterfinal after a ruthless straight sets victory over unseeded Oceane Dodin on Monday.
The 12th seed Zheng lit up the night session at Rod Laver Arena with a masterclass 6-0, 6-3 victory in 59 minutes as she showed no nerves in her first fourth round appearance at Melbourne Park.
Zheng stormed out of the blocks in a flawless first set performance where she hit the lines with precision and left Frenchwoman Dodin flustered. Zheng hit 11 winners to claim the first set in just 24 minutes and she kept her foot on the gas in an ominous performance.
The 21-year-old Zheng next plays unseeded Russian Anna Kalinskaya as expectations build for Chinese tennis' biggest star. Zheng is the only seeded player left in her half of the draw after a slew of upsets in what has been an unpredictable tournament.
Zheng had never made it past the second round in her two previous trips to Melbourne Park, but she arrived with high hopes after a breakout season last year yielded two titles and a spectacular quarterfinal run at the US Open.
Zheng is hoping to emulate her hero Li Na, who memorably won the Australian Open title a decade ago.
