Wang Xinyu's birthday meets Zhang Shuai's revenge, Alonzo fearless against Zheng Qinwen in a test of the top player's condition

Can Wang Xinyu become the next Yuan Yue? This question was posed before her contest with Zhang Shuai started.

On the day Yuan Yue played against Putintseva, it was exactly her 27th birthday. Blessed by the fortune of being the birthday girl, she delivered a clean sweep, presenting a unique gift to celebrate her special day.

Interestingly, Wang Xinyu’s match against Zhang Shuai also took place on her 24th birthday. Moreover, Wang, seeded 31st in the tournament, had previously won all three encounters against Zhang Shuai. Because of this, some had already predicted that Wang Xinyu had a great chance to celebrate her birthday with a victory, just like Yuan Yue, achieving double joy.

Although on paper Wang Xinyu seemed to have the edge over Zhang Shuai, bookmakers set the odds at 1 to 1.91 for both players, treating this Chinese tennis showdown as an evenly matched battle, which instantly increased the excitement among fans.

This match also involved an interesting story: when Zhang Shuai first appeared at the China Open in 2006, Wang Xinyu was only 5 years old and had never held a racket. Nineteen years later, their first meeting at the China Open symbolized a special kind of legacy in Chinese tennis.

Before the match started, the live chat was flooded with comments debating whether Zhang Shuai would get revenge or if Wang Xinyu would continue to dominate, showing how heated the anticipation was.

From Zhang Shuai’s initial strong push in the first set, fans and viewers jokingly said she was trying to teach young Wang Xinyu a lesson.

Especially after Zhang Shuai quickly took a 2-0 lead with her lightning-fast play, everyone was eager to see whether Wang Xinyu would respond well or collapse unexpectedly, making this a key focus of the match.

When Wang Xinyu quickly stabilized and leveled the score, many expected her to gain momentum and put Zhang Shuai under pressure. Unexpectedly, Zhang Shuai, with her experience, capitalized on Wang’s unstable form and closed the first set 6-4 before Wang could fully recover.

The second set was initially thought to be Wang Xinyu’s chance to fully demonstrate her strength, but she fell into the same old problem, seemingly only able to perform well for one set.

Falling behind 0-4 early on, fans and viewers in the live chat quickly lost confidence in Wang Xinyu’s chances.

It proved that Wang Xinyu still needs to improve her ability to handle adversity at critical moments. This is why when Zhang Shuai ended the match 6-2 in the second set, nearly everyone watching felt Zhang had taught Wang a valuable lesson.

Wang Xinyu’s loss, failing to celebrate her birthday with a victory like Yuan Yue did, was indeed a pity. According to post-match data, besides lacking Zhang Shuai’s mental toughness, her low first-serve scoring rate was another factor contributing to the defeat, an area where Zhang performed better.

Before the match, some supporters believed that birthday luck might favor Wang Xinyu, hoping she would become the second Yuan Yue at the China Open. However, after facing Zhang Shuai, Wang not only failed to replicate Yuan Yue’s sweet success but also suffered revenge, bringing their head-to-head record to 1-3.

Although Zhang Shuai secured a significant win and reached the round of 32 at the China Open for the third consecutive year, she now faces tremendous pressure ahead, with a tough third-round challenge against the new two-time runner-up Anisimova.

Another player who might face a challenge is Zheng Qinwen!

Zheng Qinwen’s match against her defeated opponent Alonzo should theoretically be easy, but considering her recent return from injury, her performance and condition remain uncertain. Thus, this match is seen as a test of Zheng’s comeback status.

Additionally, before the match, Alonzo mentioned that playing against a local player like Zheng Qinwen is interesting and motivates her more. With Zheng’s form unclear and Alonzo openly expressing strong revenge intentions, whether the Chinese top player’s comeback debut will have surprises has become a major suspense.

Currently, Zheng Qinwen’s match time is set for 7 p.m. tonight. What will happen after this comeback match will soon be revealed!(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Moonlight River’s Starry Sky)