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Qinwen Zheng's dream of emulating her idol Na Li came to an end in the final against Aryna Sabalenka. The 2023 defending champion won with the score of 6-3 6-2 without giving up serve during the match, conquering the Australian Open 2024.
At the press conference, the next number 7 in the WTA rankings responded to journalists' questions, explaining her disappointment. But I think young Qinwen should be extremely proud of her tennis and what she did in Melbourne. Reaching a Slam final at her age isn't for everyone, she only manages the great champions. The future is hers and it will be bright for her if she continues to show the progress we have been able to admire in recent weeks.
The bright future of Qinwen Zheng
"I think the difference was the beginning, I couldn't hold serve. Then later, when I had the chance to break ahead 40-0, I couldn't do it. You know, that little moment makes the game so different. You know, if I play against Sabalenka at this level, if you don't take the opportunity the match is over very quickly.
She's a really aggressive player. If you let go of a chance, it will happen like today. There's nothing else I can say about the match. Yes, because basically I think I could have done much better than this.
There's a chance I didn't catch. If you're talking about nervous, it was fine. I think the difference is Aryna, she takes off the pace compared to other players. So yes, that's the difference," said the young Chinese girl.
Zheng went on to highlight Sabalenka's merits.
"I would say first of all that to play against her I think it is very important to hold your serve, because she also has a really good serve. She is obviously aggressive, but I have to be more in control and at the same time be as aggressive as her. Today I didn't give my best. It's really a shame for me, because I want to play better than this.
I have to work more on my tennis, work more on my mental side, work more on myself to get through this moment. Because if you lose, there has to be a reason behind it and we have to try to understand why and then come back stronger and better next time."
The 20-year-old then analyzed: "I would say there are a lot of difficult matches for me coming up. I think I can learn more from today's defeat, and then I just hope that next time I can come back as a better tennis player and come back stronger."