China's women's ace Zheng Qinwen has etched her name in tennis history after winning the country's first singles Olympic gold medal in Paris on Saturday, fueling her meteoric career rise with another major accolade.
China's world No 7 Zheng was the sixth seed in the 64-draw Olympic tournament. She lived up to her favorite status in the final against Croatia's 13th seed Donna Vekic at the Roland Garros Stadium, breaking her 21st-ranked opponent four times while conceding only one of her service games to prevail 6-2, 6-3 at the iconic site of the red-clay Grand Slam to win the gold medal.
It was only China's second Olympic gold medal in tennis, following a women's doubles title won by Li Ting and Sun Tiantian at Athens 2004, and the first in singles.
After securing the win with a forehand winner down the line, Zheng lay down on her back to rousing cheers across the Court Philippe-Chatrier, soaking up the historic moment for her own career and for the sport's profile in China.
It was the second Olympic tennis medal won by the Chinese delegation in Paris, after mixed doubles pair Zhang Zhizhen and Wang Xinyu claimed a silver medal in Friday's final, which was won by Czech team Katerina Siniakova and Tomas Machac at the same venue.
"Nothing can describe my feeling right now, it's unreal. I've always been hoping to get a medal for China. Finally I made it," an emotional Zheng said during the on-court interview.
"I did everything I could. I think my country will be proud of me, I feel proud of myself. The success is for all my team members, my families and whoever supported me, not just for me.
"I just fought every single match, there were two matches that I almost lost on my way to the final, especially 0-4 down in the second set against Iga (Swiatek) in the semis. I feel the energy of all the support knowing that I play for my country. I just never gave up and tried to find every single solution," Zheng said of her tough path to success.
And for the celebration? The 21-year-old native of Hubei province just wants to join her family and enjoy some home cuisine.
"I haven't thought about it yet. For sure to eat some Chinese food, after having eaten chicken and rice every day here, nothing much of flavor," she said with a grin.
