Paris. China’s Zheng Qinwen won the gold medal in women’s tennis at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Saturday by beating Croatia’s Donna Vekic in an unexpected final, thus claiming the first singles medal in this sport for the Asian country.
The Chinese, ranked seventh in the WTA, won 6-2, 6-3 in less than two hours in a match played on Roland Garros’ central court, the Philippe Chatrier.
Zheng upset all expectations in Paris by eliminating world number one and four-time Roland Garros champion Iga Swiatek in the semi-finals.
The Pole had to settle for the bronze medal on Friday after beating Slovakia’s Anna Schmiedlova.
The silver medal went to Vekic, the 21st in the WTA rankings, who at 28 years old had the pleasure of eliminating the world number two, the American Coco Gauff, on her way to the final, before succumbing to the Chinese.
Zheng was more solid from start to finish and finished the match with 20 unforced errors, compared to 31 for her opponent. Without any problems, the Chinese player took the first set and although Vekic had some opportunities in the second set, her nerves got the better of her tennis.
The gold medal winner, who is based in Barcelona, surprised the world this year by reaching the final of the first Grand Slam of the season, the Australian Open.
And at these Games he confirmed that, at just 21 years old, with an exceptional physical condition and an arsenal of very varied shots, he is ready to continue making solid strides in the major tournaments.
Matt Ebden and John Peers of Australia win the men’s doubles
Meanwhile, Matt Ebden and John Peers won Australia’s second gold medal in Olympic tennis on Saturday after defeating Americans Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram 6-7 (6), 7-6 (1), 10-8, with a super tiebreaker in the men’s doubles final at Paris 2024.
The Olympic doubles tournament uses a tie-break format of first to 10 points, leading by two points, instead of a third set.
Ebden and Peers were down a set, and 4-2 in the second, before breaking Ram’s serve to begin their comeback.
Australia’s previous gold medal in tennis was also in men’s doubles, won by Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde at Atlanta 1996.
Ebden drew attention at the start of these Olympics when he was a substitute in singles and lost to Novak Djokovic 6-0, 6-1. He entered the singles draw when other players withdrew.
Djokovic said someone like Ebden — a 36-year-old doubles specialist who had not competed in a tour-level singles match since June 2022 — should have been on court without a teammate in Paris.
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– 2024-08-08 02:02:00
