Olympic champion Zheng’s elimination in the 2025 Australian Open provides the first shock | Tennis News

Cheng was eliminated after losing in the second round to the unseeded Siegemund, with former champions Sabalenka and Osaka vying for qualification.

Cheng Qinwen became the first big name to exit the women’s draw at the Australian Open after the Olympic champion was upset by Laura Siegemund while top seed Aryna Sabalenka struggled in her second round match before progressing.

Jessica Pegula, who lost to Sabalenka in last year’s US Open final, advanced safely while Tokyo Olympics champion Belinda Bencic qualified elsewhere after a brief period of rain delayed proceedings on the outdoor courts for a fourth day.

Chinese Cheng was seeking to repeat her compatriot Li Na’s victory at Melbourne Park in 2014, but her hopes evaporated at John Cain Arena, where unseeded German Siegmund achieved a stunning victory 7-6 (3) and 6-3.

The fifth seed left the court looking as if she was about to cry, while Siegmund, ranked 97th in the world, was smiling from ear to ear after his famous victory.

“I knew I had to play more than my best tennis, you have nothing to lose, so I told myself to swing freely,” Siegemund said on court.

“She’s an amazing player, one of the best players right now. But I know I can play and I wanted to make it a tough fight.

Cheng said it wasn’t her day.

The 22-year-old said: “I had a lot of opportunities to break her serve in the first set, but as you know at that moment maybe my focus was not there.”

“At the same time, I felt like she was playing really well. It’s tennis, nothing more.”

Sabalenka is seeking to become the first woman to win three consecutive titles at Melbourne Park since Martina Hingis, from 1997 to 1999, and while the Belarusian beat Jessica Buzas Manero 6-3, 7-5, she did not have it all her own way. .

After easily winning the first two games of the match at Rod Laver Arena, Sabalenka exchanged serves twice with her opponent, ranked 54th in the world, before taking a 5-2 lead and deciding the first set with serve.

The three-time Grand Slam champion’s serve came under intense pressure in the next set and she found herself 4-1 down when an inspired Bossas Manero began hitting winners on both sides of the court.

Sabalenka found spark from somewhere and fought back from 5-2 to level at 5-5, firing a backhand winner to break serve again in the next game before wrapping up the match to extend her Grand Slam winning streak to 16.

“I played great tennis today and it was very difficult,” Sabalenka said.

“I mean I was expecting this tennis from her, so I’m really happy that I was able to win this match.

“In the second set… I wasn’t in too much of a rush after 5-2, and I said to myself: OK, whatever, we’ll leave this second set and move on. And yeah, I was able to turn it around.

“I’m very happy to win in straight sets, especially against someone like her, who makes you work for every point.”

American Pegula, seeded seventh, defeated Belgian Elise Mertens 6-4, 6-2 at Margaret Court Arena, while Bencic beat Suzanne Lammens 6-1, 7-6 after Olga Danilovich stunned 25th seed Lyudmila Samsonova 6-1, 6-2.

Osaka, the former world number one and the 2019 and 2021 champion in Australia but now unseeded, returned to defeat twentieth seed Karolina Muchova 1-6, 6-1, 6-3.