Australian Open: Zheng Qinwen storms into first quarterfinal, beats Oceane Dodin
Jan 22, 2024
Melbourne [Australia], January 22 : The World No. 15 Zheng Qinwen raced into her second consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal, and maiden at the Australian Open, with a straight set 6-0, 6-3 victory over Oceane Dodin in just 59 minutes on Monday.
She will next lock horns with No.75-ranked Anna Kalinskaya, who defeated No.26 seed Jasmine Paolini 6-4, 6-2.
Zheng's better serve and control won a match between two heavy hitters.
The second game began with a backhand winner down the line that broke Dodin; ultimately, Zheng found 19 winners to the Frenchwoman's five, and she limited her unforced error total to 16 against Dodin's 19.
Except for a bad serve halfway through the second set, Zheng managed to maintain control of the majority of her service games despite landing just 44 per cent of her first serves. She only lost three of those points.
On the other hand, even though Dodin, ranked No. 95, had quicker average speeds on her first and second deliveries, she was unable to shield her serve from Zheng's aggressive strategies.
On return, Zheng regularly used a one-two punch that crushed her first blow deep and freed her up to block her subsequent forehand. Merely 50 per cent of Dodin's points came from her first serve, while only 33 per cent came from her second serve.
Elsewhere, playing at the John Cain Arena, the unseeded Kalinskaya became the fourth first-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist at this year's first Grand Slam after beating No.26 seed Jasmine Paolini 6-4, 6-2 in a match that lasted for one hour and 17 minutes.
"It felt amazing to pass two rounds in a Grand Slam, but to win so many matches is something special for sure. I had a tough first three rounds, so I can't be nervous any more," Kalinskaya said in her on-court interview as quoted by WTA.
