Steely Zheng keeps eyes on the prize

Staying alive and doing it the "Queen Wen" way — China's top ace Zheng Qinwen's career-first victory at the WTA Finals has cemented her reputation as the most resilient fighter on the women's circuit this year.

As a last-minute qualifier to the 2024 WTA Finals, reigning Olympic champion Zheng has again put the steely will that drove her to top of the Paris podium on full display, after the world No 7 pulled off a 7-6 (4),3-6, 6-1 win over group opponent Elena Rybakina in her second match in Riyadh on Monday, keeping her in contention for the title at the coveted season-ending championship.

It's the first time the 22-year-old Zheng has qualified for the Finals, where the top-8 singles stars and doubles teams compete in round-robin groups, before progressing to the semifinals to fight for a share of a whopping $15.25 million purse being offered by debutant host Saudi Arabia.

Zheng's win over Rybakina, her first in three encounters against the 2022 Wimbledon champion, also marked her Tour-leading 20th three-set win in her 24 matches that went to a decider, also a record, this season, consolidating the power hitter's status as one of the mentally toughest opponents in the women's game.

Of course, she'd love to have quicker wins, but Zheng took particular pride in the huge progress of her mental game, which has contributed significantly to her fruitful 2024 campaign.

"I don't know. Maybe in lot of matches, because I know it's supposed to be three sets, I always let it happen in three sets," Zheng joked about her tendency of having to go the distance to win after outlasting the Kazakh world No 5 over nearly two hours and 30 minutes at the King Saud University Indoor Arena.

"It's tough for me to play against her. I had a lot of chances in the second set, but I didn't take them ... But in the third set, I told myself, even if I broke her first, I had to stay focused on my service game, because (there are) two big servers on court. One little detail can change a lot.

"I think when everybody arrives in the third set, they've already got into a rhythm, not like the beginning of the match. And for me, I felt I raised my level in the third, and I started to play my tennis again."

So focused on clinging on to the win in order to progress, at least into the final group round, Zheng let her emotions get the better of her midway through the deciding set, as she chastised a group of loudly cheering Chinese fans in mandarin, urging them to stop calling her name before she was about to serve.

She expressed regret for venting her nerves on her loyal supporters, who almost turned the Saudi arena into a "home" court, where red Chinese flags flew vigorously during changeovers and chants of "Queen Wen! Come on!" filled the air.

Zheng used the post-match interview to apologize to her fans for "not keeping her temper in check" during tense moments, yet she insisted that sometimes it's helpful to blow off steam.

"You need to know how to use the crowd ... My heart rate went up (when they shouted my name), so I had to hold on, until I couldn't hold it in anymore and I shouted at them to stop. I am not supposed to say that to my supporters though.

"Afterward, I felt my level automatically got better, and I felt I was able to see the ball better and to react faster," said Zheng, who, with the win, has overtaken Jessica Pegula of the United States in the live WTA rankings, climbing to a career-high No 6.

By firing six aces in Monday's match, Zheng now leads the WTA Tour on 420 for the year so far, with Rybakina second at 352. The win also makes Zheng the first Chinese player to rack up at least 50 Tourlevel victories in one season.

Despite an opening loss to her bitter rival and world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka on Saturday, Zheng remains on course for a semifinal berth, with the winner of her final Group Purple clash, against Jasmine Paolini, set to advance into the final four.

Having won all her three previous matches against the 4th-ranked Italian, Zheng said she's approaching the match with the in-form Paolini, who made back-to-back major finals this year at the French Open and Wimbledon, as seriously as possible.

"I am gonna block all that out," Zheng said of her advancing odds. "I just have to do the best that I can and not think about what's happening outside, because I play better when I block everything and just focus on me and my opponent."

As an aggressive baseliner and a fierce server, Zheng's career potential still holds plenty of exciting possibilities after a breakout season began with a run to her first Slam final at the Australian Open and culminated with a golden finish at the Paris Games.

She backed it up with a successful homecoming through the Asian Swing, where she reached the semifinals in Beijing, the finals at her home tournament in Wuhan, and won her third title of the season in Tokyo.

"It's far away for me to think about 2025, but I guess I just keep going and don't get relaxed," Zheng said of her thoughts on next season. "Once you relax, it's easy to drop. So I know how important it is to stay mentally strong and focused."