World No.7 Qinwen Zheng has sensationally toppled Iga Swiatek 6-2, 7-5 in the Olympic semi-finals to cause one of the biggest upsets in recent memory.
It had been over three years since Swiatek tasted defeat on the Parisian clay, having claimed the past three Roland Garros titles. The Pole entered the tournament as a near certainty for gold, especially after the withdrawals of Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina.
At the 2022 French Open, Zheng captured the opening set against Swiatek before losing a hard-fought three-set battle in the fourth round.
Making a name for herself as a runner-up at the Australian Open earlier this year, Zheng found the first break of the match in the third game to kick on and clinch four of the next five games thereafter.
In an unusual error-riddled match for the five-time Grand Slam winner, the faster conditions on Court Philippe-Chatrier did Swiatek no favours against her powerful hitting opponent.
Stepping off court for a bathroom break to regain her composure, a 4-0 lead for Swiatek in the second set was soon evaporated inexplicably.
A ripping winner from Zheng that caught the line sent the 21-year-old on her backside - covered in red clay as she celebrated the most famous in scalp of her young career.
"I feel in this match I had more patience than her, and I waited for my chances," Zheng said on court. "I made less mistakes than her. Even if she loses the first set she’s a player who can turn the game around, and she’s done that in a lot of matches before, especially in matches against me!"
"Everyone knows how I want to get this medal for my country. Since 2022, I’ve been hoping for the 2024 Olympic Games, so you cannot imagine how much pressure I had and how many sacrifices I needed to make on the court, especially after eight hours on court in three days, beating the world No. 1 here.”
She now assures China of its first singles medal in a tennis Olympic event since 1988.
Raw emotion was on full display from Swiatek, unable to hold back tears during her post-match interview with Eurosport - walking away visibly distraught after her 25-match win streak in Paris was snapped.
The top seed awaits Anna Schmiedlová for bronze, while Zheng will fancy her chances in the gold medal match after conquering the greatest challenge in women’s tennis as of late, albeit against a red-hot Donna Vekić winning her semi-final 6-4, 6-0.
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