Zheng continues dream of RG glory

Lying on her back again to rousing cheers at Roland Garros, China's tennis ace Zheng Qinwen almost felt like she was reliving the rapturous moment celebrating her historic Olympic gold last summer in Paris.

Only this time she's kept her emotions in check, knowing that her round-of-16 win on Sunday was anything but near her lofty goals at the red-clay major.

"Definitely, yes. I still remember how many times I fell on the ground last year," Zheng said, as she recalled her grueling Paris 2024 Olympic campaign after beating Russia's Liudmila Samsonova to reach her first quarterfinal at the French Open.

"Even today, I still remember the Olympic Games moment on court, but I told myself to focus on the present and keep fighting.

"Even if I am in the quarterfinals, I am still a bit far... I just want to stay calm, forget what happened last summer and fight in this moment at Roland Garros," said the No 8 seed, who's racked up 10 straight wins in the French capital, including six wins last year at the Olympic tournament.

Of course, it's nothing close to her golden finish at the Court Philippe Chatrier last summer, but Zheng's hard-fought 7-6(5), 1-6, 6-3 victory over Samsonova at Court Suzanne-Lenglen on Sunday has given her a huge confidence boost and a needed test to push for another historic win in Paris.

"I feel incredible, because I've been trying to reach the quarters from 2023 but it didn't happen. I am really happy, there is no word that can describe my emotions right now," Zheng, who's ranked world No 7, said after beating the 19th seed in two hours and 47 minutes.

The win has made her only the second Chinese player to reach the women's final-8 at the French Open, after retired legend Li Na did it all the way to lift Asia's first singles Grand Slam title in 2011.

"It was really an intense match, especially as the opponent was playing great. She gave me a lot of pressure," Zheng said of the aggressive game of Samsonova, who outplayed Zheng in first-serve percentage and total winners.

Zheng, however, drew strength from the cheering Parisian crowd, as she did during her Olympic run, to come back from a second-set slump, after winning a first-set tiebreak, to regain her composure and precision to clinch the win in the decider.

"I still feel I have a lot of energy. If I have to play five sets, I will go ahead. But as a woman, we don't have five sets. My body is feeling great, I have a lot of energy. I will push until the end in Roland Garros," Zheng said.

"The crowd helped me a lot, they gave me a lot of energy. I always love to play in front of a lot of people. I feel this can give me more motivation.

"I just wish I can stay longer this year in Roland Garros."

And the next hurdle for her long run in Paris seems a much more formidable one, with her bitter rival Aryna Sabalenka, Belarus' world No 1, waiting for her in a marquee quarterfinal fight on Tuesday.

Sabalenka bested No 16 seed Amanda Anisimova of the United States later on Sunday to set up an eighth clash with Zheng on the WTA Tour.

Boasting a similar style as Zheng, yet wielding more power in her shots, Sabalenka defeated Zheng in their first six meetings, including the 2024 Australian Open final, before the Chinese player snatched her first win over the three-time major winner in their most recent encounter, also on clay, at the WTA Rome Open quarterfinals last month.

The top seed made no secret of her attempt at revenge.

"It's always tough matches against her. She's a great player. Of course, I expect a great battle," Sabalenka said of Zheng after dismantling Anisimova in straight sets on Sunday.

"I'm super excited to face her in the quarterfinals. I want to get my revenge. Yeah, I want to get this win after Rome."

Sabalenka attributed her loss to Zheng in Rome to fatigue and the slow court at the WTA 1000 tournament.

"I have to say I was pretty exhausted in Rome. Honestly, I was playing that tournament constantly thinking that I shouldn't be playing," said the 27-year-old who's collected three WTA titles so far this season.

"I think maybe because the courts are a little bit slower, so she has a bit more time to prepare her shots. Now I'm fresh and ready to go."

With her fourth-round win on Sunday, Zheng emerged as the third most triumphant WTA player on clay over the past three years after she's reached tour-level clay-court quarterfinals eight times since 2023, placing her behind Iga Swiatek's 11 and Sabalenka's 10.

Yet, she remains humble.

"It was true I won the Olympic gold medal here last summer, but I didn't consider myself the defending champion in Roland Garros," said the 22-year-old, who stunned four-time French Open winner Swiatek in the Olympic semis to claim her first win against the Polish star also in the seventh attempt.

"It's Swiatek who won the French Open last year. It's different, we need to win seven matches here. Of course I beat her here last time, I have a lot of confidence on clay court now.

"But I think to improve is the basic, because if you don't improve, other players will analyze you. If you don't add new things, you will be so predicable.

"It is true I would like to play more aggressively, going more to the net, improve my game, be able to do everything in tennis," she said.