By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Wednesday September 21, 2022
19-year-old Zheng Qinwen continues to impress in her breakout season on tour.
The rising Chinese force powered past top-seeded Paula Badosa at the Toray Pan Pacific in Tokyo, 6-3, 6-2, winning 11 of the final 13 games behind her trademark bedazzling baseline play.
"Even though the score was like this, there were a lot of emotions for me in this match and I'm very proud of myself,” Zheng said after the match, per WTATennis.com. “It's not a surprise - I always knew I had the level, I just had to make it."
Zheng started the season at 143 in the WTA rankings and has climbed all the way to her current perch of 36, thanks to an 8-4 record at the Slams, which included a trip to the round of 16 at Roland-Garros and third-round performances at Wimbledon and the US Open, all on her debuts.
Zheng dominated Badosa after a slow start, cracking seven aces and winning 82 percent of her first serve points.
She will face American Claire Liu, who defeated Elise Mertens, in the quarterfinals.
No.2-Seeded Garcia Ousted
France’s Caroline Garcia was cooled off by China’s Zhang Shuai, 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(5) on Wednesday in Tokyo, despite a memorable performance from the service stripe. Garcia, who fell for just the second time in her last 15 matches, cracked 27 aces and even had a match point with Zhang serving at 4-5 in the third (after dropping set two in a breaker). But it was the Chinese veteran who ultimately moved through.
Zheng, who plays at five spots high of her career-best ranking, earns her second Top-10 win of the season and will face either sixth-seeded Karolina Pliskova or Petra Martic in the quarterfinals.
Garcia’s ace total was the most in a single WTA match since 2019. That total is tied for third on the WTA Tour since aces have been recorded in 2008. Only Kristyna Pliskova (31) and her sister Karolina (28) have fired more in a single match since then.