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Zheng Qinwen ended Iga Swiatek’s 25-match unbeaten streak at Roland Garros on Thursday to grow to be the primary Chinese language participant to achieve an Olympic Video games singles remaining as Carlos Alcaraz marched nearer to a showdown with Novak Djokovic. Defending champion Alexander Zverev nonetheless crashed out, dropping his quarter-final to a fired-up Lorenzo Musetti of Italy.
Seventh-ranked Zheng triumphed 6-2, 7-5 over world primary Swiatek and can face both Croatia’s Donna Vekic or Anna Karolina Schmiedlova of Slovakia for gold.
“I really feel extra than simply pleased, pleased is not sufficient to explain how I really feel,” mentioned Zheng, who had performed back-to-back three-hour matches to make the semi-final. “In the event you ask me to play one other three hours for my nation, I might.”
Swiatek, a four-time French Open champion at Roland Garros, went into the match having not misplaced in Paris since 2021. The 23-year-old had additionally defeated Zheng in all of their six earlier conferences.
Nonetheless she was hit off the courtroom by the highly effective 21-year-old Australian Open finalist who broke the Pole thrice within the opening set.
Swiatek appeared restored by a 10-minute break and rapidly stretched out to a 4-0 lead within the second set earlier than Zheng battled again, retrieving each breaks for 4-4.
The Chinese language star broke once more for a 6-5 lead towards the error-plagued Swiatek and claimed victory within the subsequent recreation. By making the ultimate, Zheng is the primary Chinese language man or lady to achieve an Olympic singles gold medal match, bettering the run of Li Na, who completed fourth within the ladies’s occasion at Beijing in 2008.
China’s solely Olympics tennis gold got here because of Li Ting and Solar Tiantian within the ladies’s doubles at Athens in 2004.
‘In regards to the battle’
Alcaraz, again at Roland Garros the place he received a maiden French Open in June, turned the youngest Olympic semi-finalist since Djokovic in 2008.
The second seed noticed off Thirteenth-ranked Tommy Paul of the US 6-3, 7-6 (9/7) after recovering from a break down within the second set and saving a set level within the tie-break. “It is all in regards to the battle,” mentioned Alcaraz, 21, who was taking part in the day after he and Rafael Nadal suffered a heartbreaking doubles loss in what was most likely the veteran’s remaining look at Roland Garros.
Alcaraz will subsequent face Felix Auger-Aliassime, who turned the primary Canadian to make the semi-finals with a 6-4, 6-7 (8/10), 6-3 win over sixth-seeded Casper Ruud, a two-time French Open runner-up.
Champion Zverev out
Musetti shocked Zverev 7-5, 7-5 on the again of 20 winners because the world quantity 16 turned the primary Italian to achieve the singles semi-finals since tennis returned to the Olympics at Seoul 1988. He’ll face both prime seed Djokovic, who beat him within the Wimbledon semi-finals, or Stefanos Tsitsipas for a spot within the gold medal match.
When requested who he’d favor to face, Musetti replied: “Neither of them, after all.” Zverev mentioned sickness was partly liable for his defeat but additionally blasted the schedule as “a shame” after taking part in his quarter-final lower than a day after his last-16 tie.
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