US Open Women’s Singles – Final: Zheng Qinwen Takes the First Set in a Tiebreak, Leading Viktorija

Today, in the US Open quarterfinals, Chinese player and 7th seed Zheng Qinwen faces off against her Olympic final opponent, Croatian player and 24th seed Viktorija.

In the first game of the first set, Zheng Qinwen served very well, consecutively delivering three aces to easily take the game.

Subsequently, both players comfortably held their serves, with Zheng Qinwen serving another ace, but Viktorija was also in excellent form, consistently hitting winners.

In the fifth game, Zheng Qinwen’s serve fluctuated, with consecutive first serves missing, but she managed to regain her serving form and won the game with difficulty.

In the sixth game, Viktorija led 40-15 but was chased down by two points from Zheng Qinwen, reaching deuce and forcing a break point. However, Viktorija saved the crisis with a good first serve. Following this, they entered a closely contested phase, where Zheng Qinwen forced another break point. But facing Viktorija’s weak second serve, Zheng Qinwen became overly eager, allowing Viktorija to save the break point again. Viktorija then won the game with an ace and a smash, albeit narrowly.

In the ninth game after both players held serve again, Zheng Qinwen struggled to capitalize on net opportunities and was pushed to deuce by Viktorija. Fortunately, she won the next two points to hold serve successfully.

Thereafter, in Viktorija’s must-win service game, despite Zheng Qinwen’s efforts to attack Viktorija’s second serve, she made too many errors, allowing Viktorija to win the game, tying the score at 5-5.

In the eleventh game, Zheng Qinwen started with a double fault. During the rally, Viktorija also made an error, but Zheng Qinwen’s second serve was weak, giving Viktorija a strong lead of 30-15. Thankfully, Zheng Qinwen saved the game with an ace.

After Viktorija held serve as well, both players entered the tiebreak of the first set.

Zheng Qinwen took the first point on serve, then broke and held to lead 4-1. After Viktorija double-faulted, Zheng Qinwen broke Viktorija’s serve again, leading 5-2. She then won the tiebreak 7-2, taking the first set 1-0.