"I believe principally it's on my hand," Zheng Qinwen mentioned after dropping to Aryna Sabalenka within the Roland Garros quarterfinals.
By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Tuesday, June 3, 2025
Picture credit score: Antoine Couvercelle-ROLEX
Zheng Qinwen confirmed a powerful sense of self perception capturing the Olympic gold medal on Courtroom Philippe Chatrier final August.
In the present day, Zheng mentioned self-sabotage price her shot on the Roland Garros semifinals.
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka stopped Zheng 7-6(3), 6-3 to achieve the Roland Garros semifinals—and avenge final month’s Rome loss to the Olympic gold-medal champion.
Afterward, Zheng mentioned nerves price her the match.
Zheng led 4-2 and was at 30-all on Sabalenka’s serve—two factors from a double break—when she blocked a routine backhand volley into web. Zheng mentioned these sorts of errors—and 5 double faults—confirmed the jitters.
“I believe I'm simply getting tight as a result of it's the French Open quarterfinals,” Zheng mentioned. “I believe doesn't matter who I face.
“I shall be actually tight as a result of I’ve a lot hungry in French Open, after which I believe this may make me efficiency even not greatest, and it's possibly not, I’ll say, immediately I don't even carry out at 60, 70%.”
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It’s Sabalenka’s eleventh profession main semifinal, together with her ninth semifinal in her final 10 Grand Slam tournaments as she continues her hunt for a maiden Roland Garros crown.
The highest-seeded Sabalenka, who improved to 7-1 lifetime vs. Zheng, praised the eighth-seeded Chinese language for a gripping battle.
"She performed unbelievable tennis. She's an incredible participant, and I anticipated her to play an incredible match," Sabalenka mentioned of Zheng. "I loved this battle. I loved that I needed to come again in that first set, and the primary set was, like, actually tight. It might go both manner.
"So I used to be actually having fun with it. I'm tremendous blissful that I acquired win in straight units."
In a rematch of the 2024 Australian Open last, Zheng mentioned she felt she misplaced the match greater than Sabalenka received it.
“I believe possibly through the match I ought to play a bit extra aggressive, and I believe within the first set I made quite a lot of, , simple errors,” Zheng mentioned. “I give her the prospect really easy. After all, I believe principally I made a match lose.
“I believe principally it's on my hand as a result of already I did some double fault within the first set once I'm main with my service sport. However, yeah, it's tennis. There's nothing extra I can do.”
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