Qinwen Zheng Battles Past Anca Todoni at Australian Open

Fifth seed Qinwen Zheng overcame a tough challenge from Anca Todoni to win her Australian Open first-round match 7-6(3), 6-1.

Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng admitted to feeling first-day jitters after securing a hard-fought victory in the first round of the Australian Open on Sunday. The 22-year-old fifth seed was pushed to the limit by debutant Anca Todoni before ultimately prevailing 7-6(3), 6-1.

Zheng, who lost to Aryna Sabalenka in the 2024 Australian Open final, confessed that she felt nervous as she took to the court on Rod Laver Arena. “Actually, I felt really nervous,” Zheng revealed in a post-match press conference. “I started to feel nervous already since yesterday because I felt a special emotion for the Australian Open.”

Zheng's nerves were evident as she struggled to close out the match against the world number 110. Despite breaking Todoni to lead 5-3, Zheng faced three set points before eventually taking the set in a tiebreaker. As thunderstorms interrupted play on outside courts, Zheng regrouped under the roof of Rod Laver Arena to win the match in nearly two hours.

Anca Todoni Puts Up Valiant Effort Against Qinwen Zheng

Anca Todoni, the world number 110, demonstrated remarkable resilience in her Australian Open debut against fifth seed Qinwen Zheng. Despite being broken to trail 5-3, Todoni broke back to level the set at 5-5, forcing Zheng to dig deep. At 5-6, Zheng saved three set points to force a tiebreaker, which she eventually won to claim the first set after a grueling 75 minutes.

Zheng acknowledged her struggles in the opening set, stating, “The first set is always not easy, especially because I was doing stupid mistakes.” However, she regained her composure in the second set, racing to a 3-0 lead and ultimately securing the match with an ace in 1 hour and 56 minutes.

Despite the challenges she faced, Zheng was relieved to have emerged victorious, saying, “I am just happy to win the match.” Zheng's win was met with enthusiastic support from a large Chinese contingent in the crowd, who cheered her on throughout the match.