Qiang Wang continues to cause a sensation: The unseeded Chinese is in the semi-finals of the Premier Mandatory tournament in Beijing – and has expanded her incredible winning streak at home.
Sloane Stephens got a little angry the other day. A journalist had dared to ask the US Open winner of 2017 why she was much more successful at tournaments in her American home country than elsewhere. The good man has been punished with a pretty nasty look from the 25-year-old. “I love the food here,” Stephens said. The media representative did not get a conclusive answer.
John Isner is also such a case – 12 of his 14 titles were won by the service giant at home in the USA. Philipp Kohlschreiber from Augsburg won five of his eight ATP trophies in Germany. Keyword: feel-good factor.
Now Qiang Wang is getting ready to end up on the list of professionals who are particularly successful at home. The world rankings-28th finished on Friday the winning streak of Wuhan winner Aryna Sabalenka at 7:5, 7:5 in the quarter-finals of Beijing. The young Belarusian had previously remained undefeated in eight matches in a row.
26-year-old Wang has won her first major titles on the WTA Tour this season: Nanchang and Guangzhou. The right-hander from Tianjin won 16 duels from the last 18 games in her Chinese homeland. “I don’t know where my confidence comes from. I just trust myself on the court. Whether it goes well or not, I believe I can do it,” said Wang, who gave the French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia) the highest penalty in the second round (6:0, 6:0).
Last week, the Chinese number one Wang had also failed in Wuhan in the semi-finals – against the Estonian Anett Kontaveit. In the preliminary round of Beijing Wildcard owner Wang will meet Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) on Saturday. The Australian Open winner in second place, who like Simona Halep, Angelique Kerber, Naomi Osaka and Petra Kvitova has already qualified for the WTA finals in Singapore (from 21 October), won 6-2, 6-2 against qualifier Katerina Siniakova (Czech Republic).
In the other preliminary round match, US Open Champion Filly Naomi Osaka (Japan/Nr. 8) and Anastasija Sevastova from Latvia will face each other on Saturday in the National Tennis Stadium of the Olympic city of 2008. Osaka defeated her good friend Zhang Shuai (China) in the quarter-finals after a hard fight with 3:6, 6:4, 7:5, while Sevastova beat Dominika Cibulkova from Slovakia 6:3, 7:6 (7:5).
Here the tableau of Beijing