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First and First: Zheng's Wimbledon Run Continues

Wednesday, 2nd July 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)

First wild card to reach the singles semifinals at Wimbledon; first Chinese player to reach the singles semis at Wimbledon. Zheng Jie's latest win gave her both of those titles. She beat Hungary's Nicole Vaidisova 6-2, 5-7, 6-1, moving on to a showdown with Serena Williams in the semis.

When Zheng won her third-round match against Ana Ivanovic, media coverage was more about Ivanovic's surprising loss than Zheng's win. Case in point, this story: Still growing into No. 1 status.

It was as if the 24-year-old from Sichuan had luckily happened on a vulnerable and overconfident new champ in Ivanovic. That may be true, but by winning her next two matches, Zheng has firmly declared that she is not just a footnote in Ivanovic's rise to the top of the tennis world. Her story now has weight in its own right—and it is one of only four that will continue to play out in England this week.

Tags: tennis, Wimbledon, Zheng Jie

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