Can the French Open return to its peak and create another "Grand Slam miracle"? In Rome, Zheng Qinwen and Zhang Zhizhen will make great progress and create new history.

On the evening of May 13th, Beijing time, in the women's singles 1/8 finals of the 2024WTA1000 Rome Station, China's Golden Flower No. 1 sister Zheng Qinwen swept the former world number one and Japanese player Naomi Osaka 2-0 and advanced to the top 8.

As the most important events before the French Open, at the ATP1000 and WTA1000 Rome Station, Zheng Qinwen, the "No. 1 Sister in Women's Tennis", and Zhang Zhizhen, the "No. 1 Brother in Men's Tennis Tennis", defeated their respective opponents and advanced to the top 8 and top 16 respectively, showing good momentum.

On May 26, the French Open is about to start. A total of eight members of the Chinese team have successfully qualified, led by Zheng Qinwen, and Yuan Yue, Wang Xinyu, Zhu Lin, Bai Zhuoxuan, Wang Xiyu, and Wang Yafan have entered the main draw. In men's singles, China's top brother Zhang Zhizhen entered the main draw directly.

Can Zheng Qinwen and Zhang Zhizhen's rapid progress sound the clarion call for the Chinese Army?

Zheng Qinwen's outstanding performance as the runner-up at this year's Australian Open has rocketed him to seventh place in the world rankings. But after the Australian Open final, Zheng Qinwen entered a period of trough, winning only one victory in the "Sunshine Double Match". After entering the clay court season where I am best at it, I originally hoped to make a strong comeback, but my luck was a little worse. When facing Kostiuk in the second round in Stuttgart, Zheng Qinwen wasted five match points and lost the game. She also suffered a little thigh injury in that game.

Although he barely made an appearance after coming to the Madrid Masters, facing the "sufferer" of last year's French Open - Kazakhstan player Putintseva, Zheng Qinwen could not persist and chose to retire after losing the first set.

After withdrawing from the Madrid station due to injury, Zheng Qinwen adjusted and rested for almost 2 weeks. This station in Rome is her last chance to prepare for the French Open; starting from the second round, she first swept the American player Rogers 2-0, and then reversed the No. 29 seed Noskova 2-1, winning the title for the second consecutive year. Entered the top 16 of this website.

Talking about playing against Naomi Osaka, Zheng Qinwen expressed his admiration for his opponent. "I know it's difficult to beat her, no matter what kind of venue it is, because she has won many Grand Slam championships before. It is not easy to return to the court after becoming a mother. I admire such a player very much." Zheng Qinwen Said, "Today I fought with all my strength on the court, and I am proud of myself. I also want to say to her that she did a really good job. Not all players have such a mentality. Coming back as a mother, this It's not easy."

Talking about his performance on the Italian clay court, Zheng Qinwen said: "My first junior championship, first ITF championship and first WTA championship all came from Italy. Now I have reached the quarterfinals in Rome for the second time. I really enjoy playing in Italy and thank the fans for their support.”

The 2024 French Open will kick off on May 26, and Zheng Qinwen will lead the Chinese Legion to participate. "I am striving to compete with a healthy body and not have to play with pain on the court. This is the first challenge I have to face." Zheng Qinwen said.

Last year, Zheng Qinwen suffered an injury before the French Open: Although Zheng Qinwen had high expectations for the results of the competition, he was eliminated in the second round of the French Open.

For Zheng Qinwen, how to overcome injuries, maintain a good competitive state, and accumulate experience at the French Open will be the key to her success.

On May 13, Beijing time, in the third round of the men's singles of the ATP1000 Rome Masters, Zhang Zhizhen faced Shelton. As a result, Zhang Zhizhen won with a score of 2-0, successfully avenged and swept Shelton, creating a big upset, successfully advanced to the top 16, and made history again.

As China's top brother, Zhang Zhizhen is currently ranked 56th in the world. Although his performance at the Rome Masters was mediocre before, he showed outstanding performance this year. First, he defeated Gran to win his first victory at the Rome Masters. Then, in the second round, facing Mannarino, ranked 21st and 19th seed in the world, Zhang Zhizhen once again swept his opponent 2-0 and made history again.

Photo, Reuters, May 13, 2024

On the same day, in the third round of singles at the ATP1000 Rome Masters, Chinese player Zhang Zhizhen defeated American player Sheldon 2-0 and advanced to the top 16.

Sheldon is a famous American player and the No. 12 seed in this competition, with relatively strong strength. The two met in last year's Australian Open, when Shelton narrowly won in five sets. Judging from the overall strength, ranking and fighting record, Shelton is clearly at the upper hand.

Before coming to the Rome Masters, Zhang Zhizhen, who was considered by the outside world to be the best at fighting on clay, only achieved one win and three losses in the clay court season. Especially after a first-round trip in Madrid, some people are extremely optimistic about Zhang Zhizhen's trip to the Rome Masters, saying that he is most likely to have back-to-back first-round trips.

Although Madrid's performance made Zhang Zhizhen fall out of the TOP50, Zhang Zhizhen, who won in Rome, did not think this was a bad thing. Instead, he felt that he felt much more relaxed now that there was no pressure to maintain points.

"After these things are taken away, I feel that my burden is not as heavy as before." Zhang Zhizhen revealed that he was able to continue to advance in the Rome Masters because this burden was lifted.

The Rome Masters is the most important warm-up match before the French Open. Judging from the fact that Djokovic would rather give up Madrid and choose to play in Rome, we know that this clay-court warm-up match is of self-evident importance in preparing for the French Open. Now as the French Open is approaching, Zhang Zhizhen has finally stopped his three-game losing streak and has achieved good results one after another. His performance is eye-catching and has made many fans and netizens more confident about his other matches in the new season. .