Hangzhou, China, September 29, 2023: China’s Zheng Qinwen beat compatriot Zhu Lin 6-2, 6-4 to win the gold medal in the Asian Games women’s singles on Friday afternoon at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Tennis Centre.
The 20-year-old Zheng played almost exclusively from the baseline and combined a wicked forehand with a powerful backhand to defeat the veteran Zhu.
“The feeling was incredible,” Zheng, the top seed, stated after her win. “I’m really happy about that. It was not an easy match, today and also yesterday. All of them are good fighters.”
Zheng, a quarterfinalist at the U.S. Open in September, broke Zhu’s serve in the opening game of the match and again in the third to go up 3-0.
Zhu finally held serve in the fifth game and earned a break point in the sixth, but was unable to convert and Zheng went on to claim the set 6-2 with a forehand winner.
“I think in the first set I played better than the second set, because I opened up the court much better,” Zheng commented.
Zhu took the first game of the second set on serve after saving a break point, but was broken in the third as Zheng moved ahead 2-1.
The 29-year-old Zhu had two break points in the fourth game, but could not capitalize on them as Zheng went in front 3-1. The momentum then began to change, as Zhu ripped a nice crosscourt return to hold serve for 3-2 then broke Zheng to level at 3-3.
Zhu moved ahead on serve 4-3 and had three break points in the eighth game, only to see Zheng battle back to level 4-4. Zheng then regained her footing with a break to lead 5-4 and closed out the match 6-4 on serve.
Zheng said she was unworried when Zhu started to come back in the second set.
“Even if I lose the second set, I still have the third set to fight,” Zheng noted. “It doesn’t matter if I lose the second set. Tennis is a very long game and if you give your best, we will see the result, win or lose.”
Zhu praised her younger opponent after the loss.
“She played really well today,” Zhu remarked. “I was slowly getting into the match today, especially in the first set, but by the second set I started to feel better. The way she plays is very heavy and bouncy, so I realized I have to be more close to the baseline.”
*In earlier action, Chinese Taipei’s Hsu Yu-hsiou and Jason Jung took the gold medal in men’s doubles with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over India’s Saketh Myeni and Ramkumar Ramanathan.
Hsu and Jung combined fine play at the net with excellent passing shots in the win.
“I would say it’s one of the bigger moments for me,” the 34-year-old Jung said of the victory. “I mean, obviously playing Grand Slams and Wimbledon and all that is really big, but sometimes playing for your country in one of the biggest stadiums, you can’t explain it. It’s pretty amazing.”