Zheng through despite ‘stupid mistake’ in wet Melbourne

Zheng Qinwen recovered from a “stupid mistake” to begin her Australian Open bid with a straight-set win on a rain-disrupted first day in Melbourne.

Chinese fifth seed Zheng, beaten by Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s final, won 7-6 (7-3) 6-1 against Romanian qualifier Anca Todoni under the roof on Rod Laver Arena.

The Olympic gold medalist could not take any of her three set points, but she did for the opening set at 5-4 40-0.

Todoni, 20, had never defeated a top-50 opponent before, and Zheng’s serve created three set points, giving him the opportunity to advance halfway to a surprise victory.

But she could not convert and Zheng, 22, held before stepping up a gear in the tie-break.

Zheng broke early before cruising to victory, which was more straightforward. As usual, a large number of Chinese fans supported him in the second set.

“The first set is always not easy, especially because I was doing stupid mistakes – I don’t know what happened there”, she said.

“But I am happy to get through”.

She continued, “Once I win the Olympic title, there is obviously more pressure, but]the fans are pushing me to improve.”

” I like to play with pressure. Like what Billie Jean King says – pressure is a privilege. I love this sentence.

“Let’s keep going and playing with pressure”.

After beating Marie Bouzkova in the first round, Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva said she now feels like she belongs on the WTA Tour.

The 17-year-old, who made her Slam debut at the 2023 French Open, recorded a routine 6-3 6-3 win over her Czech opponent.

Andreeva admitted to having her first major singles semi-final at Roland Garros last year despite ranking 15th overall in the world and admitting to having made an effort to prove herself last year.

“I would say that I don’t feel like a newbie on the tour right now.” I feel like I’m here now”, said Andreeva, who plays Magda Linette or Moyuka Uchijima next.

“I was still trying to convince people that I belong here, that I’m going to play with you, and that this is my place,” I said when I was playing Roland Garros and Wimbledon in 2024.