Ten years after watching Li Na win the Australian Open title, Zheng Qinwen has a first grand slam crown in her sights.
The 21-year-old is the first Chinese player since trailblazer Li here in 2014 to make a grand slam final, where she will take on defending champion Aryna Sabalenka.
Zheng vividly remembers cheering on Li during her victory over Dominika Cibulkova as an 11-year-old alongside her tennis team-mates.
Three years earlier, Li had become the first Chinese grand slam singles champion at the French Open, and Zheng said: “She means a lot, I think, for all the Chinese kids the same age like me.
“Because I think she’s the first one who won the slams. That’s unbelievable for Asian woman in that moment. She gives a lot of hope, in that moment, to young kids like me.”
Zheng had the chance to meet Li, who is playing in the legends event, earlier this fortnight, with the 41-year-old telling her young countrywoman not to think too much.
Zheng, who will break into the top 10 on Monday, kept her nerve to come through a chaotic top half of the draw, with Sabalenka the first top-50 opponent she will face, and she said: “My dream is not just the final. I’m almost there but I know this little distance is still far away.”
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Extra motivation for the 21-year-old came last September when coach Wim Fissette ended their brief partnership to return to work with Naomi Osaka.
Zheng made her feelings known but linked back up with Spaniard Pere Riba, who first began coaching her as a 17-year-old.
He cannot speak highly enough of Zheng, saying: “I never see in my life a player with the work ethic that she has.
“The first week that we started to work, a long time ago, I say, ‘OK, 7am, and then we go to practise’. Then we practise a lot of hours. I say, next day the same, next day the same. I was thinking that after four or five days she’s going to say, ‘I’m tired’.
“Sometimes we are getting angry because she wants to do more and I have to stop her. You can imagine the dreams that Qinwen has, that she really wants to be there in the top, and I’m really, really happy for her because she deserves it.
“Still she is so young. She’s improving every single month and still has a lot of margin to improve. She arrived with very good feelings. She arrived really motivated. And, if she plays her game, she will have her chances.
“But, of course, all of us, we know Aryna and we know it’s going to be a really complicated match.”
The run is another feather in the cap of 35-year-old Riba, who during his break from working with Zheng was part of Coco Gauff’s coaching team for her US Open triumph last summer.
“I think that all experiences is helpful to you,” he said. “Me, I’m a humble guy and I’m trying to learn from everyone. The US Open was really an amazing moment. Of course this experience is helping here.”
Sabalenka was the player beaten by Gauff in New York but the Belarusian has put together an impressive sequence of slam results, reaching at least the semi-finals of six straight tournaments and now bidding for a second successive title here.
She turned the tables on Gauff in the last four and is yet to drop a set.
Known as a very emotional player, Sabalenka has maintained an impressively even keel so far, and she said: “I think I’m pretty calm inside like I am outside.
“I’m defending champion but, worst case, I’m going to lose this tournament and it’s less points to defend next year. That’s helping me to just stay focused and just try your best in each match without thinking about defending something.”
One bizarre superstition Sabalenka has maintained through the tournament is drawing her signature and other doodles on fitness coach Jason Stacy’s bald head.
“Our first day here, there was some kid wanted a ball signed,” Stacy said. “She’s, ‘Ah, no problem’. So she signed my head as a joke.
“Then every day it’s like a routine to sign my head. Non-match day, she just draws some random picture. They played tic-tac-toe on my head the other day. She won, by the way, so it’s good.
“Then on match day she just signs it and does random stuff. Just part of the process.”
Swiatek makes it back-to-back finals with Gauff win
Iga Swiatek is through to the Italian Open final for the third time after seeing off Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-3 on Thursday.
There was little to separate the two in the opening 50 minutes as they played to 4-4 before Gauff left an opening with back-to-back double faults, and Swiatek took full advantage.
The world number one broke Gauff’s serve four times, including in the fifth game of the second set to swing the momentum firmly in her favour after one hour 48 minutes on the court.
Swiatek has now reached back-to-back WTA 1000 finals after winning the Madrid Open earlier this month and could face Aryna Sabalenka for the title once more if the Belarusian gets past Danielle Collins in the other semi-final.
Data Debrief: Unstoppable on clay
Swiatek has now won 11 consecutive matches, and registered her 10th victory over Gauff in 11 meetings between the two - she has won all four matches against the American on clay.
Since the format’s introduction in 2009, Swiatek (40 per cent, 12/30) holds the highest percentage of finals reached from WTA-1000 main draws entered. Serena Williams (36.7 per cent, 18/49) is the next best in the format's history.
Since the WTA rankings were first published in 1975, Swiatek has become only the third player to reach multiple Italian Open finals as the WTA's number one, along with Serena Williams (three) and Monica Seles (two). She will be looking for her third Italian Open title on Saturday.
Paul sees off Hurkacz in seesaw quarter-final
Tommy Paul reached the semi-final of the Italian Open after pulling through a rollercoaster clash with Hubert Hurkacz on Thursday.
The number 14 seed downed Hurkacz 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 in the quarter-final, keeping his composure during his two hours and 43 minutes on the court.
After winning the first set, Hurkacz fought back to win the second, but the American was not out of the contest yet as he clawed back from 0-2 down early in the third.
He closed out the win in a dramatic fashion, fending off six break points while letting three of his own slip, to eventually set up a semi-final against Stefanos Tsitsipas or Nicolas Jerry on Friday.
Data Debrief: Into the final four
After beating Daniil Medvedev in the previous round, Paul has now won back-to-back matches against top-10 opponents for the first time in his professional career with his victory over Hurkacz.
Paul earned his 150th tour-level win to take him through to his third Masters 1000 semi-final, as he aims to become the first American finalist in Rome since Andre Agassi in 2002.
Zverev overcomes injury scare to maintain Italian Open charge
Alexander Zverev moved a step closer to his second Italian Open title with a hard-fought 6-4 6-3 quarter-final win over Taylor Fritz, overcoming an injury scare en route to the last four.
Zverev – who triumphed on the clay in Rome back in 2017 – produced a dominant serving performance against another heavy hitter in Fritz, but only after an awkward fall early on.
The German sought medical attention after falling on his stomach in the third service game of the match, the slip leaving him bleeding from both hands.
However, he soon shook off that knock and did not allow Fritz a single break point in a deeply impressive display, setting up a semi-final meeting with Chile's Alejandro Tabilo – the conqueror of Novak Djokovic – for Friday.
Data Debrief: Zverev gathering momentum
Zverev, the lone former champion remaining in the men's draw, is surely the favourite to win a tournament characterised by unfortunate withdrawals and shock defeats for the biggest names.
Seven of Zverev's 21 tour-level titles have come on clay, and he is yet to drop a single set in Rome this year. His three-year wait for an ATP 1000 title could soon be over.
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