Finalist for the Australian Open in 2024, Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen was eliminated on Wednesday in the second round of the first Grand Slam of the season, defeated by German Laura Siegemund.
First shock elimination in the women’s draw of the Australian Open: the Chinese Zheng Qinwen, finalist in Melbourne in 2024, lost on Wednesday in the 2nd round against the German Laura Siegemund. Fifth player in the world, the 22-year-old Olympic champion was beaten 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 by her opponent (97th), who will face in the 3rd round the Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (32nd) or her compatriot Anastasia Potapova ( 36th).
“I had nothing to lose. I know I can play well and I just wanted to prove it to myself.”Siegemund exulted just after his victory. “I tried to be extremely aggressive, not try any improbable shots and instead stick to my game plan”she added.
Defeated after a 2h15 fight, Zheng Qinwen played the first tournament of her 2025 season in Melbourne. In 2024, the year in which she revealed herself, the Chinese was eliminated in the third round of Roland-Garros, in the first round of Wimbledon and in the quarter-finals at the US Open.
She came very close to victory at the WTA Finals in November, narrowly beaten by the American Coco Gauff after a battle of almost four hours. At 36, Laura Siegemund, for her part, sought the eleventh victory of her career on Wednesday against a top 10 player. The German, who reached the quarter-finals of Roland-Garros in singles in 2020 and won the US Open doubles the same year, had never faced Zheng Qinwen before. By reaching the 3rd round, as in 2016 and 2023, Siegemund equals his best performance at the Australian Open.
Morocco
