Tokyo: Top seed Zheng Qinwen wins tight final with help of masterful serving display

Today at 03:11 AM

Zheng Qinwen has landed her third WTA title of the year after overcoming Sofia Kenin in a tight Tokyo final 7-6 (5) 6-3 in just over two hours of play. 

Although the top-seeded Chinese entered the final as the favorite, she missed out on two break points in the fifth and four another two games later. Ultimately, the 2020 Australian Open winner managed to force a tie-break and even be tied 5-5 there with the top seed. 

But when it mattered the most, Zheng stepped up and won the following two points to bag the first set. 

Shortly after sealing the opener, the 22-year-old also collected the first break of the match to open an early 3-0 second-set lead. Up by a set and a break, the 22-year-old just held on to her serve for the rest of the match to complete a two-set win. 

During the match, Zheng's serving was near-perfect as she allowed Kenin only one break point and she saved it. Also, she fired a stunning 16 aces. 

Before making it all the way in Tokyo, the Chinese also successfully defended her Palermo title in July and won the Paris Olympics. Now, she will head to the WTA Finals with three titles on the year and five overall. 

Meanwhile - prior to Tokyo - the Asian home favorite was a semifinalist in Beijing and also finished as runner-up in Wuhan. So she decided not to play in Ningbo last week and rest.

"After Wuhan, my physical and mental was really tired. But after almost a week off I came back again and I'm feeling more fresh. Also my body, compared to Wuhan, is much better. I'm just going to try and perform like all my matches I did before and let's see what's going to happen this year in Tokyo. The WTA Finals are really close, but first of all, I'm trying to keep the body healthy and then, talking about tennis, let's see how it goes here," Zheng said at the start of the week in Tokyo.