In the first round of the Australian Open, Zheng Qinwen secured an opening-round victory, while Wang Xinyu and Bu Yunchaoke were eliminated in the same round.
The first-round matches of the 2025 Australian Open kicked off today. In the women's singles, China's No. 5 seed Zheng Qinwen advanced to the second round with a convincing 7-6 (3), 6-1 victory over Romania's Todoni. Meanwhile, Wang Xinyu suffered her sixth consecutive loss of the year, falling in the first round. On the men's side, Bu Yunchaokete failed to secure his first-ever Grand Slam win, leaving his quest for a breakthrough on hold until the French Open.
Zheng Qinwen's first-round match wasn't exactly easy, either.
In the first set, the early stages were tightly contested, with both players locked in a 3-3 tie. In the 7th game, Zheng Qinwen broke her opponent's serve, then held her own to take a 5-3 lead. However, in the 10th game, despite leading 40-0 on her own serve for the set point, Zheng Qinwen suddenly lost control of her serve, allowing Todoni to capitalize with a crucial break. Todoni then held her next service game to move ahead 6-5, stealing the momentum from Zheng.
In the crucial 12th game, Zheng Qinwen faced two break points on her serve, but she managed to withstand the immense pressure, saving three of her opponent's break points in a row and forcing the match into a tie-break. In the tie-break, she clinched the first set 7-3, capping off a thrilling 75-minute battle.
In the second set, Zheng Qinwen served first and held her own serve, then broke her opponent's serve in the second game before holding again, taking a 3-0 lead. Although Todoni called for a medical timeout, slowing down the pace of the match, Zheng seized the momentum after play resumed, clinching the second set 6-1.
This victory has boosted Zheng Qinwen's confidence significantly in this year's Australian Open, laying a strong foundation for her upcoming matches and enabling her to approach tougher opponents with greater composure and self-assurance. Zheng Qinwen’s impressive start has already ignited excitement among Chinese tennis fans, who are now eagerly anticipating her continued performance at the tournament.
In another women's singles match, China's Wang Xinyu faced Spain's Badosa. Ultimately, after a grueling two-set battle, Wang Xinyu fell short with a 3-6, 6-7(5) loss, bowing out of the tournament and missing out on advancing to the next round! Additionally, this marks the second consecutive year that Wang Xinyu has been eliminated in the first round of the Australian Open.
On the men's singles court, Bu Yunchaokete battled through three grueling sets but ultimately fell to qualifier Habib, missing out on his first-ever Grand Slam main-draw victory. After the match, "Little Bu" reflected on the game and acknowledged his opponent's outstanding performance today. Regarding his upcoming tournament schedule, Bu Yunchaokete shared: "I’ve already entered the 250 in France, as well as Dallas, so I’ll likely compete in those two events this week. After that, my focus will mainly be on Indian Wells and Miami—both of which should take place over here in the U.S."
Tomorrow (January 13), the first-round matches of the Australian Open will continue, with Chinese players Yuan Yue and Shang Juncheng set to take the court. Meanwhile, tennis stars like Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner, Naomi Osaka, and Carlos Alcaraz will also be in action.
