Australian Open: Qinwen Zheng gets up and running with tough win over Anca Todoni

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Qinwen Zheng was made to work for her first-round win over Anca Todoni at the Australian Open, but eventually prevailed in straight sets. Zheng, who won gold at the Paris Olympics last year, triumphed 7-6 (7-3) 6-1 at Rod Laver Arena on Sunday (January 12).

Last year's runner-up was pushed hard in a topsy-turvy opener, with world number 110 Todoni clawing back three set points before breaking. Zheng had to save three set points on her own serve to force a tie-break, which she decisively took by breaking three times.

An apparent back injury for Todoni resulted in a long medical timeout for the Romanian, who could not get going in the second set as Zheng saw out the win.

Data Debrief: Zheng starts strong

Zheng has now won 11 of her 13 grand slam first-round matches, with her defeats coming at Wimbledon in 2023 (to Katerina Siniakova) and 2024 (to Lulu Sun).

She is also the only Chinese woman in the Open Era to advance to the second round in each of their first four main draw appearances at the Australian Open.