Zheng Qinwen reached six finals in 2024, winning three of them – including claiming Olympic gold [Getty Images]
Australian Open 2025
Dates: 12-26 January Venue: Melbourne Park
Coverage: Live radio commentary on Tennis Breakfast from 07:00 GMT on BBC 5 Sports Extra, plus live text commentaries on the BBC Sport website and app
Zheng Qinwen admitted it was not her day as she was beaten in the Australian Open second round in the biggest shock of the tournament so far.
China’s Zheng, runner-up to Aryna Sabalenka last year and the Olympic singles gold medallist, lost 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 to German veteran Laura Siegemund.
The fifth seed is the highest ranked player from either singles draw to lose so far at Melbourne Park.
Zheng was irked by two time violations during the match, one of which cost her a first serve.
She complained to the umpire that she could not see the shot clock, which tells players how long they have left to serve before the 25 second allowance runs out.
“Maybe today is not my day,” Zheng, 22, said.
“There’s a lot of details in the important points. I didn’t do the right choice.”
Two-time defending champion Sabalenka avoided the same fate but was made to work in her 6-3 7-5 win against Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.
World number one Sabalenka was 5-2 down in the second set before mounting a comeback.
“I want people to know I’m not that crazy off court. It’s only the on-court Aryna,” the Belarusian joked with the crowd afterwards.
“I’m a nice person off the court. I’m not sure if my team will agree with that… but I’m nice, I promise.”
Fellow two-time winner Naomi Osaka also won, coming from a set down to beat Karolina Muchova, while title contender Coco Gauff is in action later on Wednesday.
https://sports.yahoo.com/not-day-zheng-biggest-melbourne-050148001.html
