Seventh heaven for Queen Wen

"Queen Wen" has finally got over the hump, and by doing so she's shaken off her early-season rust in time to, hopefully, spring a clay-court major surprise.

As strong testament to the relentless power of will, late tennis legend Vitas Gerulaitis' famous 1980 quote has fittingly found a new variant: Nobody beats Zheng Qinwen seven times in a row.

In her seventh attempt at scaling "Mount Aryna", after falling short six times, China's reigning Olympic champion Zheng, anointed "Queen "by her legion of fans, has finally overcome what has been a constant hurdle in her fledgling career by beating Belarusian world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets in their quarterfinal at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia on Wednesday. The victory propels Zheng into the semifinals for the first time in her three appearances at the WTA 1000 tournament in Rome.

Cheered on by a vocal crowd at Foro Italico, Zheng attributed the long-awaited victory over the threetime major winner to her inner strength, just like American great Gerulaitis did when pushing for a first win against his bitter rival Jimmy Connors, after being beaten by his compatriot 16 times in a row.

After defeating Connors for the first time in their 17th encounter on Jan 12, 1980, Gerulaitis uttered one of the most epic quips in tennis history: "And let that be a lesson to you all. No one beats Vitas Gerulaitis 17 times in a row."

Zheng has, of course, sent out a strong message of her own — nothing is unachievable as long as she sets her mind on it — which might be a stronger weapon than the kick serve and punishing forehand that already helped bag an Olympic gold.

"There's no mountain too high, and no ocean too deep," Zheng posted on social media right after stunning Sabalenka 6-4, 6-3 in 97 minutes in their first meeting on clay.

Seven seems to be the lucky number. In an equally potent rivalry with a top seed, Zheng snapped her losing streak against Poland's fivetime major champion Iga Swiatek on her seventh attempt — and what was certainly the most significant one, as Zheng upset the four-time Roland Garros winner in straight sets in the Olympic semifinals last summer.

"It's really a big win for me, because I always knew that I had what it takes, technically and physically, to beat her. I am so happy I finally did it," said a calm Zheng during a WTA interview.

Her newfound rhythm and comfort level on clay, highlighted by her 17-3 win-loss record in her last 20 clay-court matches, helped her stay more at ease facing a hard-hitting Sabalenka on Wednesday, getting rid of the fear factor that had hampered her game in the previous six tilts.

"Today I played more consistently compared to before," said Zheng, who saved all five break points that she faced, while breaking Sabalenka three times.

"Usually, when I play against her, I lose quite early the first set, but today I made sure I stayed there when she got the break point. I didn't want to give her the points too easily.

"Also, we are playing here on clay, where I have a lot of experience, and I have played really well on clay courts so far this year," said Zheng, who won three of her five career titles on clay (twice at WTA 250 Palermo, Italy, and Paris 2024)

"I just made sure to hit all my first serves in and make her play. I knew, if the rallies got longer, I'd have more advantage, because I move quite well on clay. So, I made sure I stayed there mentally. This was a breakthrough victory for me."

A heavy hitter and ferocious attacker on the baseline, Sabalenka's aggressive game was neutralized by Zheng's poise, movement and variety of shots. The 22-year-old Chinese world No 8 struck four aces and won 82 percent of her first-service points to dictate the play, driving the once intimidating Belarusian to the brink of a meltdown a couple of times.

Tensions got the best of Sabalenka early in the second set when she yelled at a spectator to "shut the f*** up" after Zheng won a point, prompting a warning from the chair umpire for an audible obscenity.

Having found her feet again on clay, and recovered from a nagging elbow injury, Zheng has every reason to look forward to another fruitful campaign at Roland Garros, when the 2025 French Open swings off its main draw action on May 25.