Countdown to comeback! Zheng Qinwen faces Arango in three matches

In less than 24 hours, China's undisputed tennis leader Zheng Qinwen will step onto the court. She is set to face Colombian player Arango around 7:00 PM Beijing time tomorrow. Arango, a dark horse emerging on this season’s tour, has reached two WTA 500 singles finals this year, with her world ranking soaring from around 170 at the start of the season to approximately 50 now.

Arango was the top seed in the women’s singles qualifying at this year’s China Open. She defeated China’s wildcard Shao Yushan 6-4, 6-2 in the first qualifying round but was eliminated in the final qualifying round by 15th seed Seidel with a score of 6-4, 7-5.

However, thanks to some withdrawals in the main draw, Arango entered the tournament as a lucky loser. In the first round, she faced Lamens and won convincingly with two 6-3 sets to advance to the second round of the women’s singles at this year’s China Open.

Thus, Zheng Qinwen’s first opponent in this year’s Chinese season has been confirmed. It’s worth noting that Zheng and Arango previously met at this year’s French Open, where Zheng dominated with a 6-2, 6-3 victory in the second round. In that match, Zheng hit 31 winners and consistently pressured Arango’s backhand.

They also faced each other in the 2021 ITF Hamburg qualifying tournament, where Zheng again came out on top with a 6-4, 6-4 win.

Watching Arango’s matches reveals that this Colombian youngster is very tenacious on defense, showing strong ability in extended rallies. However, her backhand lacks consistency. If Zheng can continue to exploit this weakness while maintaining steady energy in her serve and attack, winning this match should be highly likely.

Of course, returning to the tour after a long absence is never easy for any player. Since her surgery in July, Zheng Qinwen has not played a match for over two months. Although her current training performance looks promising, training and competition are completely different scenarios.

Regardless, we all look forward to Zheng Qinwen making a triumphant return to the tour with a perfect victory. Moreover, she is not the only Chinese star competing tomorrow. Zhu Lin and Yuan Yue will face tough battles against [4] Andrejeva and [1] Swiatek respectively in the daytime sessions. We wish all the Chinese players excellent performances in their matches!(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Barbie)