Jie Zheng to commence new season at Auckland – Tennis News
World number 26, Jie Zheng, will start his new season at the ASB Classic in Auckland. She was the un-seeded player in the event last time but managed to overpower three superior ranked players before clinching the title. She overpowered
the eighth seed Monica Niculescu of Romania in the second round before bouncing back a set down against the third seed Russian star, Svetlana Kuznetsova, in the semi-final. She was up against the experienced fourth seed Italian, Flavia Pennetta, in the final;
lost the opening set but did well to equalize the scores and enforced the final set. She was leading the scores 2-0 in the final set before the Italian withdrew from the contest after incurring an injury.
Zheng extended her unbeaten run to eight games with three victories at the Australian Open as well. So, it was a terrific start for the 29-year-old Chinese star who is looking to warm up again in Auckland to make sure that she
is enriched with another startling warm-up session. Tournament Director Karl Budge was ecstatic to have the defending champion onboard. While conducting a press conference, Budge stated, “There were some concerns in tennis circles that the new US$500,000 Shenzhen
tournament would have an impact on our ASB Classic field but Zheng’s return lessens any worries those people may have had. The top players know that playing in New Zealand and Australia is the ideal preparation for the first Grand Slam of the year – the Australian
Open.”
Zheng won her fourth title at Auckland this year and definitely becomes the strongest contender for another startling show in 2013. Some of the big guns that will test the likes of the Chinese experienced professional include the
fourth ranked Pole star, Agnieszka Radwanska, and the 18th ranked German dive, Julia Goerges. It will not be easy for the 26th ranked Chinese to save all the points at Auckland especially considering her recent form that yielded no win
from the three Round Rubber clashes in the Tournament of Champions at Sofia.
However, new season brings novel luck for everyone that can change the whole scenario.
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