Zheng Qinwen blasts into the Australian Open semi-finals

After trailing 6-3, 6-2, and 6-1 against Anna Kalinskaya, 12th seed Zheng Qinwen rallied to advance to her maiden Grand Slam semifinal at the Australian Open in two hours and twenty minutes.

Zheng won 10 of the last 11 games of the match to become the third Chinese major semifinalist in history. 

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ZHENG QINWEN TENNIS’ NEWS STAR BLASTS INTO SEMIS

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She follows in the giants steps of two-time Grand Slam champion Li Na, a former Australian Open champion lifting the trophy in 2014, and two-time major semifinalist Zheng Jie.

Zheng, who made her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the US Open last year, has guaranteed herself a place in the top ten of the WTA Rankings when they update next Monday.

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In addition to reaching the final four at the Australian Open, Zheng has gained three finals in the last year, winning her first WTA title at the WTA 250 Ladies Palermo Open, then on home soil at the WTA 500 Bank of Communications Zhengzhou Open. She also finished second at the Huafa Technology WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai.

YASTREMSKA AWAITS

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Next up for Zheng is a first-time matchup between two first-time Grand Slam semifinalists: Dayana Yastremska, a qualifier.

Yastremska’s incredible run at the Australian Open will continue into the semifinals.

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The 23-year-old Ukrainian won her ninth match in three weeks, defeating 19-year-old Linda Noskova 6-3, 6-4 in an all-unseeded quarterfinal at Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday to advance to the penultimate round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time. 

Former World No 21 Yastremska, now ranked No 93, is the Open Era’s fifth qualifier to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal, and the second to do it at the Australian Open, following Christine Dorey in 1978. Three players have done so this decade: Great Britain’s Emma Raducanu memorably stormed to the US Open championship out of qualifying two years ago, while Argentina’s Nadia Podoroska reached the Roland Garros quarterfinals in 2020.