Zheng Qinwen returns a shot during the women's singles 4th round match between Liudmila Samsonova of Russia and Zheng Qinwen of China at the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros, Paris, France, June 1, 2025. Photo: Xinhua

For the first time in her career, China's "golden flower" Zheng Qinwen has broken into the French Open women's singles quarterfinals. The tournament's No.8 seed is set for a highly anticipated showdown against world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka, marking their eighth head-to-head encounter. 

Sabalenka holds a dominant 7-1 record in their previous matchups.

Their most recent clash came just weeks ago at the WTA Italian Open, where Zheng notched her first-ever victory against Sabalenka in straight sets.

Looking ahead to their Roland Garros meeting, Zheng said, "On clay, I feel a bit more comfortable than she does, but she's the world No.1. She's done very well, and she's a very tough opponent. I'll just focus on giving it my all until the last point and see what happens. No matter what, I'll fight until the very end."

Sabalenka said in response, "It's always tough playing against her. I'm really looking forward to this quarterfinal. Yes, I want revenge. Last time in Rome, I was extremely tired, but now I feel energized and ready."

Looking ahead at this matchup, Pan Shouhu, former Chinese Tennis Association coach and a national second-level athlete, told the Global Times that despite Zheng's unfavorable head-to-head record, her win in Rome indicates she is beginning to find the rhythm needed to challenge Sabalenka. 

"Sabalenka's talk of 'revenge' is good from a competitive standpoint, as it shows she's taking the match seriously. But I believe that if Zheng plays her own game and controls her rhythm, she has a chance to surprise everyone again," Pan said.

Pan further noted that the key now is whether Zheng can switch between offense and defense quickly in high-intensity rallies and avoid getting rattled by pressure from Sabalenka. 

"In the past, she often had very few opportunities and mostly played reactively. But now, she has the ability to both compete with Sabalenka and even dictate the tempo at times."

It's worth noting that the way Zheng came to challenge Sabalenka was also a breakthrough. In the fourth round on Sunday, Zheng overcame ­Liudmila Samsonova of Russia in a grueling three-set battle, leveling their head-to-head record at 3-3 after a marathon 2-hour and 47-minute contest.

The match saw both players locked in a fierce contest from the first set, and after Samsonova stepped up her aggression in the second set hitting 11 winners, Zheng created a turning point by securing a crucial break in the sixth game in the third set. Though the two then traded breaks afterward, Zheng held serve in the ninth game to seal the match 6-3.

Zheng fired a total of 10 aces in the match, including five in the final set, while Samsonova hit none.

"It was a really intense match, and she put a lot of pressure on me, forcing me to run a lot behind the baseline," Zheng said after the victory. 

"But I feel like I still have a lot of energy left. If it were a best-of-five match, I would have kept going, but women's tennis doesn't have best-of-five, so there's nothing I can do about that." 

Pan echoed her conclusion, saying Zheng gave a resilient performance.

"Samsonova has a big serve and hits heavy groundstrokes, making it easy for her to control the match if she's in form. Zheng, who has a more all-around style, had to adjust to that pace. That's not easy, but she stayed composed and won the match, showing how much she's matured mentally," Pan noted.

Coincidentally, the match took place on International Children's Day, and Zheng posted on her official Sina Weibo account afterward with the song lyrics: "Everyone should have dreams. If you have a dream, don't be afraid of pain. If you're a gemstone, you should shine."