Crowd favourite Zheng storms into the China Open semifinals

Zheng styled her way out from a 0-2 deficit and fell on her back victorious after winning the second match point | Photo Credit: AFP

Homegrown hero Zheng Qinwen showed some of her best tennis to beat Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina 6-3, 7-6 (6) at the China Open on Friday and storm into the semifinals.

Zheng, a wildcard entry in Beijing, finally notched her first straight-sets victory of this tournament, having needed more than 10 hours on court throughout the tournament to get to the quarter-final.

The world number 54 sent the crowd roaring as she punched winners down the line, though the seventh-ranked Svitolina came back fighting to force a second-set tiebreak.

Zheng styled her way out from a 0-2 deficit and fell on her back victorious after winning the second match point.

“Truthfully, because I really wanted to grab this win, I was really nervous,” the 24-year-old told the crowd.

“I played really aggressive in important moments,” she said, adding that her opponent “raised her level” in a tight second set.

Svitolina made just 13 unforced errors over the one-hour-and-47-minute match, but was outgunned by 48 winners from the 2024 Olympic champion.

Later on Friday, Poland’s Iga Swiatek, the 2023 title winner in Beijing, is due to play Belgium’s Elise Mertens for the last semi-final spot.