"I have the level to beat all of them" - Qinwen Zheng issues challenge to rest of tour after upsetting Anett Kontaveit in Adelaide 1R

Qinwen Zheng sounded bullish about her chances of beating the top players after stunning Anett Kontaveit in a third-set tiebreak in the Adelaide 1 opening round on Tuesday (January 3). The 2022 WTA Newcomer of the Year saved a match point in a late-night thriller to knock out Kontaveit in 2 hours and 28 minutes.

There was little inkling of a slugfest when Zheng led 6-1, 4-2 after an hour, with the finish line in sight for the Chinese. However, Kontaveit stormed back into the contest, forcing a third set where neither player dropped serve.

In a titanic tiebreak, both players saw a match point come and go. Kontaveit saved one at 6-5 down and squandered one of her own at 7-6 before a netted backhand from the Estonian ended the contest.

Buoyed by her victory over the seeded player, Zheng sent down a gauntlet to the rest of the tour that she has the level to 'beat them all'. The 20-year-old said in her post-match press conference.

"I always know that I have the level to beat all of them. It's just a problem I have to show it on court.... I was leading 4-2 in the second set. If I can do better there, I can close the match in two sets, but I cannot do it in that moment, but it's okay. I accept in that moment, and it was tennis."

Opining that the match got tough in the decider, Zheng was happy to close it out after saving a match point. She said:

"That match started to be really difficult in the third set. She got a match point, and me, I got match point, also. Yeah, we had a really tough moment. But anyway, I'm so happy to win my first match of the season."

Zheng will next play Victoria Azarenka for a place in the Adelaide quarterfinals.

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"I still have a lot to improve, and I want to play match by match" - Qinwen Zheng after beating Anett Kontaveit

Qinwen Zheng

Qinwen Zheng enjoyed a breakout 2022 season, moving up nearly 100 places in the rankings to end the year at World No. 28.

The 20-year-old, though, knows that she's far from the finished article despite beating a top-10 player in Kontaveit. Here's what she said about her evolution in the last 12 months:

"I learned a lot from the last past year, especially here all the girls they are playing really good. You can never relax until the last point is over. Today I was a little bit relaxed, and look what happened; the match become really tough."

As for her expectations in the new season, Zheng said that she wishes to break into the top 10.

"In 2023, I wish I can become a top 10 first," said the Chinese. "But it's a long way. I still have a lot to improve, and I want to play match by match, and let's see what happens and when I can get there."

Her win over Kontaveit was Qinwen Zheng's fifth over a top-20 player in her last six attempts.