On August 31, Beijing time, the group stage of the 2023 United Cup Mixed Team Competition ushered in a decisive match. The Chinese team faced Serbia, however, in a thrilling mixed doubles matchup, the Chinese team lost 1-2, and the quarterfinals were in suspense.
In the first set, Zhang Zhizhen and world No. 1 Djokovic clashed and the situation was tense. In the 6th game, Zhang Zhizhen lost to his opponent's break and fell behind 1-0. Although Djokovic managed to hold serve in the ninth game, Zhang lost the first set 3-6.
In the second set, Djokovic continued his strong streak and broke serve twice to extend the score to 0-2. Zhang Zhizhen's performance in this set was still unsatisfactory, and finally lost 2-6.
Subsequently, Zheng Qinwen faced Danilovic and pulled one back for the Chinese team. In the first set, Zheng Qinwen fell behind 0-2, but she showed excellent counterattack ability, broke the opponent's two service games in a row, and won the first set 6-4.
In the second set, Zheng Qinwen was still in a brave state, broke serve twice, and easily won 6-2, quickly tying the score for the Chinese team.
However, in the decisive mixed doubles match, Zheng Qinwen and Zhang Zhizhen unfortunately lost. In the first set, the Chinese pair was broken in the seventh game and lost 4-6.
In the second set, Zheng Qinwen and Zhang Zhizhen played well, breaking serve twice and dragging the game into the deciding set 6-1.
In the tie-break stage of the deciding set, the Chinese pair lost four points in a row after 3-3, and finally lost the deciding set 6-10.
At the end of the group stage, the Chinese team won 1 win and 1 loss (3-0 Czech Republic, 1-2 Serbia), and the qualification for the quarterfinals was still undecided.
Meanwhile, in the first round of the US Open men's singles, Chinese teenager Zhang Zhizhen made history. Against world number 31 Leheca, Zhang fell on the back foot in the first set, being broken in the fourth game, but in the crucial 10th game, he managed to break his opponent's serve to win the set before losing the first set 5-7.
However, Zhang Zhizhen was not discouraged, and his form gradually improved in the second set, breaking serve in the second game and winning the second set 6-3.
In the deciding set, Zhang Zhizhen took the lead in breaking serve in the first game, completed the key break in the seventh game, and finally won the deciding set 6-4 and advanced to the round of 32.
Zheng Qinwen, meanwhile, also easily defeated Podolska to advance to the second round 6-1 6-0.
In the US Open men's singles round of 32, Zhang Zhizhen became the first Chinese men's tennis player to defeat the top 5 players.
In the next round, Zhang Zhizhen will face the dark horse of the Australian qualifiers, Rinki Hijikata.
In the women's singles competition, Zheng Qinwen, Wang Xinyu and Zhu Lin all successfully advanced to the top 32.
This series of outstanding performances has put the Chinese team in a tense situation for the quarter-finals of the United Cup in advance, and the Chinese players have been very excited at the start of the US Open, and we look forward to continuing to write a brilliant chapter in the next matches.