Chinese tennis players are making waves in the doubles events at the Australian Open, keeping the nation’s hopes alive despite earlier exits in singles competitions.
Guo Hanyu, 26, teamed up with Russia’s Alexandra Panova to stage a thrilling comeback against the USA’s Sabrina Santamaria and Bernarda Pera. After dropping the first set 5-7, the Chinese-Russian duo fought back to take the second set in a tiebreaker, dominating 7-1. They sealed their victory with a 7-5 win in the deciding set, wrapping up the match in nearly three hours.
The pair, seeded 12th, now advance to the round of 16, where they will face either Elise Mertens and Ellen Perez or Marta Kostyuk and Elena-Gabriela Ruse. Guo is focusing solely on women’s doubles this year in Melbourne, and her performance is drawing attention from fans back home.
In mixed doubles action, China’s Zhang Shuai partnered with India’s Rohan Bopanna to secure a straight-sets victory over Kristina Mladenovic of France and Ivan Dodig of Croatia. The experienced duo, with Zhang soon turning 36 and Bopanna at 44, displayed exceptional teamwork, breaking their opponents twice in each set to win 6-4, 6-4.
“I’m maintaining a balanced schedule this year,” Zhang said after the match. “Having one match per day over the last four days has been very good for me. I’m glad to win against such strong opponents, especially since we faced them in the mixed doubles semifinals last year.”
Zhang, who is participating in three events this year including women’s singles, is optimistic about her journey ahead. “I hope we play well in the rest of our matches,” she added.
Elsewhere, Zhang Zhizhen teamed up with Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic in mixed doubles. They faced Asia Muhammad of the USA and Andres Molteni of Argentina. After Muhammad and Molteni took the first set 6-3, Zhang and Siniakova pushed the second set to a tiebreak but ultimately lost 2-7.
Their opponents will move on to face Anna Danilina and Harri Heliovaara in the second round.
Chinese players continue to demonstrate their prowess in doubles events at the Australian Open, showcasing resilience and skill. Fans are eager to see how far they will go in the tournament.
Reference(s):
Chinese players advance in women's, mixed doubles at Australian Open
cgtn.com
