Zheng's golden tennis legacy

PARIS -- Dominika Cibulkova, Kevin Anderson, Mark Philippoussis, Todd Martin, Greg Rusedski, Eugenie Bouchard, Mardy Fish: the history of tennis is littered with the names of the nearly men and women who reached Grand Slam and Olympic finals but never broke through to take that final step to the top.

Perhaps the legacy of Zheng Qinwen could have been a member of that group after she lost seven months ago in the Australian Open final.

The straight-set loss to Aryna Sabalenka could have done irreparable damage to many players without Zheng's mental fortitude. A disappointing loss to unseeded Elina Avanesyan in the French Open in May and an embarrassing defeat to qualifier Lulu Sun at Wimbledon last month led many to worry that Zheng's Australian Open run was simply a flash in the pan.

Yet, here in August, back at Roland Garros, it's Zheng who sits atop the podium.