By Randy Walker
@TennisPublisher
Shuai Zhang is getting this Grand Slam tournament thing down.
The 27-year-old from China, who famously reached the quarterfinals at the Asutralian Open this year after going 0-14 in her creer at Grand Slam events, is now enjoying her second-best showing at a major, reaching the third round at the U.S. Open with a 6-3, 6-3 upset over Sam Stosur, who is also her doubles partner.
“For sure, I feel happy, very exciting,” said Zhang after her win over Stosur on the “New” Grandstand court. “I’m so happy to be still here.”
Following her quarterfinal run at the Australian Open, Zhang lost in the second round of the French Open to Stosur and in the first round at Wimbledon to Carla Suarez Navarro. She is the top-ranked ranked player in China at No. 51 in the WTA rankings and the last remaining Chinese player in singles. Her quarterfinal finish in Australian put her alongside her countrywomen Jie Jheng, Peng Shuai and Li Na as Chinese players to reach at least the quarterfinals at a major championship.
Is Zhang ready to take the mantle as the leader of Chinese tennis that Li Na, the former French and Australian Open champion, did for years?
“I don’t want to think too much about this,” said Zhang. “I just want to focus on my tennis. I just try my best on the court.”
Her full, post-match English conversation, that includes comments on how Stosur talked her out of retiring from pro tennis late last year, can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1p-FDaFsmQ
Her post-match thoughts on winning her first ever U.S. Open match in her 10th appearance in New York can be read about her in my story for China Daily newspaper: http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/epaper/2016-08/31/content_26654056.htm
Zhang will next face Yaroslava Shvedova in the third round and, with a win, could face No. 1 seed Serena Williams in the fourth round.
Randy Walker is the author of the book, ebook, audio book and mobile app “This Day In Tennis History” (www.TennisHistoryApp.com) and can be reached at Rwalker@NewChapterMedia.com
