"It's a good learning experience," says Zheng after her quarterfinal exit at Roland Garros
Zheng Qinwen fell once again to her nemesis. For the seventh time in eight meetings, the Chinese player lost to Aryna Sabalenka in the Roland Garros quarterfinals on Tuesday afternoon (7-6, 6-3).
Despite a high-quality match (22 winners, compared to 20 for her opponent), Zheng, the world No. 7, succumbed in two sets and will not advance to the semifinals. In the press conference, the Paris Olympics gold medalist reflected on her elimination.
"No matter who I face, it's a Roland Garros quarterfinal. Whenever I play a match here, I feel a bit more motivated, but that doesn’t necessarily bring out my best tennis.
Today, I didn’t perform at 60% or even 70% of what I’m capable of. I train with sparring partners who hit harder than her (Sabalenka), so I don’t think her power was my main issue today. I just wish I could have done better on the court, that’s all.
I don’t know if the gap between her and me is closing. I believe that when players aren’t at their best, they still have to find a way to win.
That’s not what I managed to do today. It’s a good learning experience for me, and I hope I can do better next time. I think my game plan worked well, but I made too many unforced errors when I was leading in the first set.
I just couldn’t maintain consistency from start to finish, but it’s not about the game plan. Sometimes, I gave her too many free points," Zheng told Tennis Actu TV.
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