History is in the making as unseeded, 35th ranked Jie Zheng has become the first Chinese woman to reach the Semifinals of the Australian Open. She won an impressive straight-sets victory over Russia’s 58th ranked giant-killer Maria Kirilenko in the Quarterfinals of the 2010 Australian Open, 6-1, 6-3.
The 26-year-old Zheng’s service returns were fierce in the first set, breaking Kirilenko in the 4th game and then closing out the set 6-1. In the second set, Zheng pulled out to a 2-0 lead, followed by a marathon sixth game where Zheng saved several break points in a strong challenge from Kirilenko, wrapping up the 2nd set 6-3 in a match time of 85 minutes.
“(It’s) very amazing for me,” Zheng said in a courtside interview on the showcase Rod Laver Arena. “I won my first title in the doubles in 2006 on this court, so I feel this court is lucky for me and I hope I can go further forward,” she added, referring to her doubles championship partnered with Yan Zi, China’s first grand slam title.
Other than a Semifinal showing at Wimbledon in 2008, this is her best result in a Grand Slam. Zheng will now meet former world number one and seven-times Grand Slam winner Justine Henin in the Semifinals. Zheng has only played Henin once, a straight-sets defeat in Toronto five years ago. This Semifinal match assures that there will be an unseeded player in the Final.
