Zheng defeats Podoroska to set up Anisimova rematch

Despite a slow start and ice-cold serving touch, home favorite Zheng Qinwen breezed past her third-round challenger Nadia Podoroska at the China Open on Monday, setting up a rematch with Amanda Anisimova in the round of 16.

Even with the Beijing crowd cheering her on in high spirit, the 5th-seeded Zheng opened the match against Podoroska apparently not at her best, hitting only 51.4 percent of her first serves in versus her Argentine opponent's 70.8 percent in the first set.

Zheng, however, managed to step up her game when needed as she sped up her pace midway through the first set, dictating the play with aggressive forehands, delicately-controlled drop shots and resilient defense on the baseline to close out the match 6-3, 6-2 in 78 minutes at the packed Diamond Court on a chilling Monday night.

It was Zheng's second straight win against Podoroska, who is ranked 66th in the world, following her straight-sets victory over the 27-year-old in the first round at the 2023 US Open.

Zheng will next face Anisimova of the United States for a second time in about a month, after they met in the opening round in New York on Aug 26.

On that occasion, riding on her gold-winning momentum from the Paris Olympics, Zheng overcame a first-set scare to fend off the on-fire Anisimova 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 at Flushing Meadows.

She will certainly look for the same result from the rematch on Wednesday, with the home-court advantage on her side this time around.

"She is certainly a tough opponent for sure. I already had a difficult match against her at the US Open," Zheng said of the next match after her Monday victory.

"I feel like I've been in good form recently, though. Hopefully I could perform better than I did last time (facing Anisimova). I will do my best and hopefully to see you guys all here again supporting me."

Asked about her assessment of the Monday win, Zheng said she could've done better for sure, but she's satisfied for being able to win matches when she's not at her best.

"I started the match quite slow, particularly struggling on my first serve. That's why I've scored so many points from my second serve, it's because I did terrible with my first serve," Zheng joked about her first-set struggle on Monday.

"I think the most improved part of my game is that I've managed to focus on figuring out a way to win a match even when I am not playing my best game, instead of being obsessed with my mistakes in a match and regretting for my faults," she added.

"The most important thing is to manage to win on a good day or bad day. I am quite happy that I did it today."

From 5-3, 15-15 in the first set to 5-2, 40-0 in the second, Zheng put together a remarkable 18-point winning streak behind her serve that underlined how dominant the stroke can be. 

It was only snapped when a Podoroska return clipped the top of the tape, foiling Zheng's serve-and-volley attempt on her first match point. In total, Zheng only dropped three points behind her first serve.