Zheng Qinwen recovered from a “stupid mistake” to begin her Australian Open bid with a straight-sets victory on a rain-disrupted opening 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 of Rod Laver Arena.
The Olympic gold medalist served through the first set at 5-4 40-0, but was unable to take any of her three set points.
Todoni, 20, had never beaten a top-50 opponent and was fortunate to move halfway to a shock victory after creating three set points on Zheng’s serve at 6-5.
But she failed to convert and Zheng, 22, held on before moving up a gear in the tiebreak.
The second set was easier as Zheng, supported as usual by a large number of Chinese fans, broke early before heading to victory.
“The first set is still not easy, especially because I made some stupid mistakes. I don’t know what happened there,” she said.
“But I’m happy to get out of it.”
On the rising expectations after winning the Olympic title, she added: “Of course there is starting to be more pressure but (the fans) push me to become a better person and a better athlete.
“I like playing with pressure. As Billie Jean King says: pressure is a privilege. I love that phrase.
“Let’s keep going and play with pressure.”
While Zheng was able to finish his match indoors, a severe thunderstorm caused play on the outdoor courts to be suspended until 6:00 p.m. local time (07:00 GMT).
Andreeva ‘feels in place’ after first victory
Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva says she now feels she belongs on the WTA Tour following her first-round victory over Marie Bouzkova.
The 17-year-old, who made her Grand Slam debut at Roland Garros 2023, recorded a routine 6-3 6-3 victory over her Czech opponent.
Andreeva reached her first major singles semi-final at Roland Garros last year and rose to No. 15 in the world, but admitted she still felt like she was trying to prove herself last season.
“I would say that now I don’t feel like I’m a new player on the circuit. I feel like I’m here now,” said Andreeva, who will next play Magda Linette or Moyuka Uchijima.
“Even when I was playing at the French Open and at Wimbledon in 2024, I was still trying to prove to people that I belong here, that I’m going to play with you and that this is my place.
“I feel like now I belong here, at the end.”