Melbourne, Jan 23:
China’s top-ranked player Zheng Qinwen raced into her first Australian Open quarterfinal after a ruthless straight sets victory over unseeded Oceane Dodin on Monday.
The 12th seed Zheng lit up the night session at Rod Laver Arena with a masterclass 6-0, 6-3 victory in 59 minutes as she showed no nerves in her first fourth round appearance at Melbourne Park.
Zheng stormed out of the blocks in a flawless first set performance where she hit the lines with precision and left Frenchwoman Dodin flustered. Zheng hit 11 winners to claim the first set in just 24 minutes and she kept her foot on the gas in an ominous performance.
The 21-year-old Zheng next plays unseeded Russian Anna Kalinskaya as expectations build for Chinese tennis’ biggest star. Zheng is the only seeded player left in her half of the draw after a slew of upsets in what has been an unpredictable tournament.
“If you look my rounds before, I would not consider it an easy match, because I had two three-sets, and the third round tiebreaker was really intense. Of course, I have more experience compared to the first time (into the quarterfinal), but I will never say it comes easier,” Zheng said.
“In Grand Slams, I think everybody just raises up their level, trying to give all they can. It’s tough always in the slam because you need to manage all those pressures,” she added.
Zheng had never made it past the second round in her two previous trips to Melbourne Park, but she arrived with high hopes after a breakout season last year yielded two titles and a spectacular quarterfinal run at the US Open.
Zheng is hoping to emulate her hero Li Na, who memorably won the Australian Open title a decade ago.
World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz galloped into Australian Open quarterfinals after defeating a resourceful Miomir Kecmanovic 6-4, 6-4 and 6-0 in an hour and 49 minutes here on Monday.
Alcaraz looked in optimal shape after his absence in the Melbourne Grand Slam last year. He faces Alexander Zverev in the next round, and if beats him too, Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner await him as he already has declared himself ready.
Kecmanovic was the perfect test to measure the prowess of Alcaraz after dealing with a younger and inexperienced Juncheng Shang of China in the last match.
Two years ago, a mature Kecmanovic had forced Alcaraz to a super tie-break in the quarterfinals of the Miami Masters 1000. On a bad day, Kecmanovic had all the potential to snatch a victory, but Alcaraz prevailed at the end of the day.
From the word go, Alcaraz was a storm and did not stop until he clinched the match. He was on fire with his consistent serves and aggressive forehands never before and essayed 18 winners from the baseline and nine from the net, without conceding any breakpoint.
Alcaraz also has a profound reputation for his effectiveness rising as the tournament heads toward the calender end. And it seems like he is already loaded.
“It was a very good match, everything worked. Mionir had played many five-set matches and was probably not 100% physically. From the beginning I knew that I had to move him, to push him to the limit and it turned out well,” Alcaraz analysed after the most complete match so far in the Australian Open.
