By Richard Pagliaro | Friday, October 27, 2023

 

Zheng Qinwen zapped 11 aces defeating Jelena Ostapenko 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 to set up the first all-Chinese semifinal in Zhuhai vs. Zhu Lin.

Photo credit: Lintao Zhang/Getty

There's no place like home.

Zheng Qinwen continues to bring the house down playing on home soil.

More: Haddad Maia Stops Garcia for Zhuhai Semifinals

Zheng zapped 11 aces defeating Jelena Ostapenko 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 in a rousing and historic WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai victory.



The seventh-seeded Zheng scored her seventh straight win—all on home soil—setting up the first all-Chinese semifinal in tournament history against Zhu Lin.

Zhuhai débutante Beatriz Haddad Maia conquered Caroline Garcia 6-1, 7-6(4) to secure a singles semifinal spot.

The eighth-seeded Haddad Maia will meet sixth-seeded Daria Kasatkina in tomorrow's semifinals.

Zhu reached the final four after Veronika Kudermetova saved two match points down 2-5 on Liudmila Samsonova’s serve sparking a five-game surge for a 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 victory that knocked Samsonova out of semifinal contention.

Had Samsonova converted either match point she would have advanced to the semifinals, but Kudermetova's comeback meant all three women in the Rose Group concluded round-robin play tied with 1-1 records sending Zhu through to the semifinals as Rose Group champion based on best sets won percentage.



The 18th-ranked Zheng and 13th-ranked Ostapenko took the court for today's final round-robin match with a semifinal spot on the line: Win and you're in, lose and go home. 

Empowered by her run to the Zhengzhou title last week, Zheng won a grueling 16-point opening game breaking to start and consolidating for 2-0.

The third-seeded Ostapenko, the highest seed still standing, broke back for 2-2. Zheng, drilling her backhand down the line, won eight of the next 10 points to take a 4-2 lead and eventually closed the opening set on her third set point.

The 2017 Roland Garros champion Ostapenko stormed out to a 5-0 lead in the second set, snatching an imposing set to force a decider with a trip to the semifinals on the line. 

Resetting, Zheng converted her third break point to seize the lone break of the final set and a 4-2 lead. Zheng never looked back closing in two hours and sending home fans into a frenzy.