WTA Tour: China’s Zheng Qinwen, 19, sets up Melbourne semi-final against Simona Halep, believes ‘I have the level to win’
- World No 126 through to her first semi-final in what is just her fourth main draw appearance
- Zheng targets place in top 30 by end of 2022 – ‘I know it’s quite difficult but I think that my level is there’
Chinese teenager Zheng Qinwen has moved into her first WTA Tour semi-final in Melbourne, where will face former world No 1 Simona Halep, no less, on Saturday.
But the 19-year-old is not backing down from the fight.
“When I was a junior my father would talk about her [Halep] to me because she’s quite a fighter,” Zheng told WTA Insider afterher battling 7-6 (1), 7-6 (6) win over Croatia’s Ana Konjuh at the Melbourne Summer Set 1 tournament on Friday.
“I’m just going to do my best tomorrow. I believe I have the level to win. Just don’t look at the player, that it’s Simona.”
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Zheng’s run in Melbourne is all the more impressive given it is just her fourth WTA main draw appearance. The world No 126, who trains in Barcelona, had to qualify for the event, with victories over Jule Niemeier and Bernarda Pera.
She has since seen off Mai Hontama and Vera Zvonareva this week, before her latest victory which ensured her at least US$10,000 in prize money from the Australian Open warm-up event, with a potential final showdown awaiting against the top seed and another former world No 1 in Naomi Osaka.
