Zheng Qinwen pulled off a major upset with a superb straight-sets win over world number one Iga Swiatek to reach the Olympic Games final. (Full Olympics Coverage| More Tennis News)
Zheng Qinwen pulled off a major upset with a superb straight-sets win over world number one Iga Swiatek to reach the Olympic Games final
Zheng Qinwen pulled off a major upset with a superb straight-sets win over world number one Iga Swiatek to reach the Olympic Games final. (Full Olympics Coverage| More Tennis News)
The sixth seed took one hour and 50 minutes to get a 6-2 7-5 win on Court Philippe Chatrier, earning her first-ever win over Swiatek.
Zheng's last two matches have both lasted three hours, but there was no sign of tiredness as she quickly stated her intent.
An early break each had the players level at 2-2, but Swiatek lost her next two serves as well, with Zheng taking advantage of her uncharacteristic mistakes to take the first set after a four-game winning run.
The Pole looked back to her usual best at the start of the second, racing into a 4-0 lead before stumbling again as Zheng's aggressive approach saw her claw back to level 4-4.
The reigning French Open champion then had no answers after edging in front again, losing her serve once more as Zheng won the final three games to book her place in the Olympics final.
She will play either Croatia's Donna Vekic or Slovakia's Anna Karolina Schmiedlova for the gold medal, while Swiatek could still take bronze.
Data Debrief: Zheng ends Swiatek's Roland-Garros run
Swiatek was the favourite to take the gold medal at the Olympics, especially considering her 20-match winning run on clay heading into the semi-finals.
Not only that, but she was unbeaten at Roland-Garros for 1,149 days, winning 25 consecutive matches, along with a 47-4 completed sets record during that span.
But, the five-time grand slam winner had no answers for Zheng on Thursday, who prevailed for the first time in seven meetings against Swiatek.