"I feel principally it's on my hand," Zheng Qinwen mentioned after dropping to Aryna Sabalenka within the Roland Garros quarterfinals.
By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Tuesday, June 3, 2025
Picture credit score: Antoine Couvercelle-ROLEX
Zheng Qinwen confirmed a robust sense of self perception capturing the Olympic gold medal on Court docket Philippe Chatrier final August.
As we speak, Zheng mentioned self-sabotage value her shot on the Roland Garros semifinals.
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka stopped Zheng 7-6(3), 6-3 to achieve the Roland Garros semifinals—and avenge final month’s Rome loss to the Olympic gold-medal champion.
Afterward, Zheng mentioned nerves value her the match.
Zheng led 4-2 and was at 30-all on Sabalenka’s serve—two factors from a double break—when she blocked a routine backhand volley into internet. Zheng mentioned these kinds of errors—and 5 double faults—confirmed the jitters.
“I feel I'm simply getting tight as a result of it's the French Open quarterfinals,” Zheng mentioned. “I feel doesn't matter who I face.
“I will likely be actually tight as a result of I’ve a lot hungry in French Open, after which I feel this could make me efficiency even not finest, and it's perhaps not, I’ll say, in the present day I don't even carry out at 60, 70%.”
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It’s Sabalenka’s eleventh profession main semifinal, together with her ninth semifinal in her final 10 Grand Slam tournaments as she continues her hunt for a maiden Roland Garros crown.
The highest-seeded Sabalenka, who improved to 7-1 lifetime vs. Zheng, praised the eighth-seeded Chinese language for a gripping battle.
"She performed unimaginable tennis. She's a terrific participant, and I anticipated her to play a terrific match," Sabalenka mentioned of Zheng. "I loved this battle. I loved that I needed to come again in that first set, and the primary set was, like, actually tight. It may go both approach.
"So I used to be actually having fun with it. I'm tremendous completely satisfied that I received win in straight units."
In a rematch of the 2024 Australian Open closing, Zheng mentioned she felt she misplaced the match greater than Sabalenka received it.
“I feel perhaps through the match I ought to play a bit extra aggressive, and I feel within the first set I made lots of, you already know, simple errors,” Zheng mentioned. “I give her the possibility really easy. After all, I feel principally I made a match lose.
“I feel principally it's on my hand as a result of already I did some double fault within the first set after I'm main with my service sport. However, yeah, it's tennis. There's nothing extra I can do.”
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