Chinese qualifier Zhang Shuai has produced the shock of the Australian Open by defeating world No.2 Simona Halep 6-4, 6-3, in an almost faultless match.
Highlights of the Match:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBop9_Wqpuk
The opening set was an outstanding performance from the Chinese qualifier. Ranked 133rd in the world, the 26-year-old was playing tennis similar to that of a top-10 player. As proceedings got underway Halep made a sluggish start against an inspired Zhang, who raced to 4-0, converting 2/3 break points. After a slow start to the match, Halep improved her performance with some dominating forehand shots retrieve both of the breaks. The Romanian had a chance to level the set at 5-5, however, Zhang continued her impressive display. A fierce volley at the net gave the Chinese player another break point and more importantly her first set point. Zhang converted her first set point with a forehand cross court shot. During the opening set the Chinese qualifier produced 20 winners compared to Halep’s five. In addition, Zhang converted 3/4 break points and won 6/8 points at the net.
The unexpected surge from Zhang was temporarily halted at the start of the second set when Halep broke in the third game before extending her lead top 3-1. The Romanian increased her intensity in the match with the help of some aggressive shots. Halep then had two chances to extend her lead to a double break, but she was denied by her determined Chinese opponent, who forced Halep to hit the ball out on game point. Halep’s failure of grabbing the double break proved costly. As Zhang continued her unexpected outstanding play, she hit a stunning backhand down the link to break back and level 3-3 before moving ahead once again. The world No.133 was playing like the world No.2 as she forced Halep to produce another unforced error to get three more break points. A forehand shot to the net from Halep handed Zhang the break to move to one game away from the spectacular win. Tasked with serving first her first ever win in a Grand Slam main draw, Halep produced another terminal unforced error to hand Zhang two match points. The Chinese player’s fairy tale came true when she blasted a forehand down the line to kick the world No.2 out of the Australian Open.
The victory clearly meant a lot for the Chinese player who was in tears during her on court interview.
“I’m so excited today, played so well against the world No.2“. Said an emotional Zhang.
Zhang also paid tribute to 2014 Australian Open champion Li Na for supporting her.
“Li Na is a great player and has given me a lot of help. Before yesterday I saw her come to Melbourne, she’s always helping the younger players“. She concluded.
This year’s Australian Open is Zhang’s 14th Grand Slam main draw. Prior to her triumph over Halep, the 26-year-old has never won a main draw match. At the height of her career in 2014, Zhang reached a career ranking high of 30th in the world. In the second round the Chinese player will face France’s Alize Cornet. Cornet cruised past Bojana Jovanovski 6-1, 6-0.
