Zhang Saisai has captured her first WTA title at the age of 25 after upsetting second seed Aryna Sabalenka in the final of the Silicon Valley Classic.
Zhang, who was unseeded in the draw, rallied to a 6-3, 7-6(3), win over the world No.10 in just under two hours. Winning 72% of her first service points and more crucially converting all five of her break point opportunities. The victory has rewarded the Chinese player her fifth win over a top 10 player and the first of 2019.
“You don’t always want to play too fast, because Sabalenka is one of the best at this,” Zheng said following the final. “The tactics were to put the ball deep, and whenever I saw space, let her run and then make change with a slice or a high ball. Had I given the same pace, she would hit winners from any corner, so I was trying to mix it up.”
“I was focusing only on what I was doing. If she hit a winner, I felt like it was okay, and just think about playing the next shot. I was really in the match, and wasn’t over-thinking anything. I told myself that this was a normal match, and not a final, and so I was able to enjoy it.”
Prior to San Jose, Zheng had only contested one final on the WTA Tour, which was at the 2018 Jiangxi Open in Nanchang. However, it was at the event where she achieved her biggest breakthrough yet. Scoring no fewer than four consecutive wins over seeded players. Prior to Sabalenka, she also defeated Maria Sakkari, Amanda Anisimova and Danielle Collins.
“I played every match on Stadium Court, and from the first match, I heard so many people cheering for me, and I was surprised because I was far from home, playing in the United States. It turns out there are a lot of Chinese fans and even the local people started to support me after my second match. I really appreciated that,” she commented about her experience of the tournament.
It was only fitting that Zheng should win her first WTA title at the tournament. It was at the same event back in 2012 where she won her first main draw match after her opponent retired. At the time the tournament was held at Stanford University before it moved to San Jose State University in 2017.
Following her win, Zheng has risen to 38th in the world to match her career-best position.
