Yuxuan Zhang claims first wildcard for the Australian Open 2013 – Tennis News
World number 370, Yuxuan Zhang, stunned the world by clinching the wildcard for the participation in the Australian Open, starting in January 2013. She took part in the Asia-Pacific Wildcard Play-Off; commenced the campaign from
the qualifying rounds and trounced everyone that placed a hurdle in her way. She is just 18 years old and snapped the maiden edition of the Asia-Pacific Wildcard Play-Off of the Australian Open tournament held in Nanjing, China.
The Chinese teenager squashed three players in the qualifying rounds before cruising past another trio on her way to the wildcard triumph. She bounced back a set down to oust the top seed Chang Kai-Chen in the opening round match.
Final score of that contest was 2-6, 6-4, 6-1. She entered the semi-final stage where the superior ranked Chan Chin-Wei couldn’t snap a single set from the committed 18-year-old Chinese who won the contest comprehensively in straight sets 7-5, 6-0.
In a final that lasted an hour and 40 minutes, Zhang displaced the second seed Wang Qiang in straight sets; winning the contest 6-4, 6-2. She jumped in delight after the final conquest and confessed in a post-match interview, “The
final was a really tough match and Wang is a good player, so I'm very happy to win. I'm very excited to be in the main draw in Australia. I've been playing better and better this year so I hope I can continue to get better and hopefully play well at the Australian
Open.”
Zhang is yet to open up her account in such an elite tournament. She is more than excited to qualify for the main round draw. If she is able to survive one match at the Australian Open, it will be more than winning a Grand Slam
itself. She hasn’t played any professional match throughout the season yet managed to secure a spot in one of the year’s biggest event.
Some of the highlights from her performances in 2012 include a successful run at Yeong Wol where she lost just one set in the entire tournament before snapping a title. She reached the semi-final on another occurrence in Seoul.
It has been a reasonable season for someone who is not even in the Top-350 players list and has never broken that barrier in the entire life. It will be a scintillating experience for the 18-year-old youngster who will heads on to the hard courts of Melbourne
in the first month of 2013.
Zhang is the first wildcard entrant into the event that commences from 14th January, 2013.
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