Zheng packs off Venus, Li braces for Robson duel
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Venus Williams is going to have a lot more time to prepare for her upcoming tournaments in Asia than she really wanted, thanks to one of Asia’s top players.
China’s Zheng Jie advanced to the third round of the US Open on Wednesday by outlasting seven-time grand slam champion Williams 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (5) after 3 hours and 2 minutes.
“Today is tough match for me,” Zheng said. “Unbelievable I can beat her.”
Deadlocked 5-5 in the tie-breaker, 60th-ranked Williams sent a backhand volley into the net to give 56th-ranked Zheng her first match-point chance. When Williams sent a backhand wide, Zheng jumped for joy in triumph. “It was amazing. I still feel tight,” Zheng said. “The tie-breaker was so close. Exciting for me of course.”
Williams was still ruefully recalling the missed volley more than an hour later.
“I should have made the shot,” Williams said. “I think I was just rushing. I rushed so badly. I just didn’t make the shot.”
Williams, the 2000 and 2001 US Open champion, had been the oldest player left in the field at 33. She had been nagged by back pain that kept her out of Wimbledon, where she is a five-time champion, but is now healthy.
Now she looks forward to playing the upcoming Asian swing of WTA events, which includes Seoul, Tokyo, Guangzhou, Beijing and Osaka.
“I have to think about this fall, just playing maybe quite a few tournaments just to get some momentum going into next season,” Williams said.
Zheng, 30, matched her best US Open runs — third-round efforts in 2008, 2009 and 2012 — and apologized to Williams’ home-soil supporters after the match. “Sorry guys,” she said. “Venus she is a very good player but I wanted to win also.”
Zheng, who lost her only prior match against Williams in the second round at Miami in 2004, will play for a berth in the round of 16 against 18th-seeded Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro.
Meanwhile, Zheng’s compatriot Li Na has waited a year for another crack at Britain’s Laura Robson and got her wish as their second-round victories on Wednesday set up a third round US Open showdown.
Robson, 19, eliminated Li in the third round at Flushing Meadows last year.
The fifth-seeded Li beat Sweden’s Sofia Arvidsson 6-2, 6-2 on Arthur Ashe Stadium court and Robson, seeded 30th, advanced with a 6-4, 7-6 (5) victory over Caroline Garcia of France.
“After last year I think both players improved a lot. I’m really looking forward to playing against her,” Li, 31, said about a rematch against former Wimbledon junior champion Robson.
“For sure, really challenging, a lefty, aggressive player. Also, I can prove myself after one year whether I can do better than last year.”
Robson said she remembers their showdown at the 2012 US Open. “I remember being so nervous when I walked on court,” the Australian-born Briton said. “But just fighting through that and just sticking with her.
“I think she made a lot of mistakes in the first set, which helped quite a lot. Hopefully she’ll do that again.”
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