Qinwen Zheng Beats Leylah Fernandez in Pan Pacific Open

Qinwen Zheng defeated Leylah Fernandez in three sets at the Pan Pacific Open.

Qinwen Zheng defeated Leyland Fernandez in the Pan pacific Open quarterfinals match. / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Just over two weeks ago, Qinwen Zheng won a contentious match against Leylah Fernandez in the Round of 16 at the Wuhan Open. The two players shared a few tense exchanges that stirred up drama on social media.

On Friday morning, the foes met again in the quarterfinals of the Pan Pacific Open. It was a challenging match in which the top-seed Zheng defeated the eight-seed Fernandez in three sets: 6-0, 1-6, 6-3.

What a turn around for Leylah 😨

Fernandez brings the match to a decider after losing the first set 0-6!#TorayPPO2024 pic.twitter.com/1H21EvBaBe

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) October 25, 2024

Zheng looked dominant to start the match, delivering a bagel to Fernandez in less than 25 minutes of action. To her credit, Fernandez bounced back in the second set and turned it into a competitive match. Zheng found her footing in the third and final set, picking up her second win against Fernandez in two weeks.

While there was plenty of exciting tennis in this match, luckily, it did not include any more between the players. Fernandez waited on Zheng at the match, who made sure to give a solid handshake this time.

Zheng Qinwen's backhand 😮‍💨#TorayPPO2024 pic.twitter.com/Y9EEoDqTtL

— wta (@WTA) October 25, 2024

Zheng will now face the six-seed Diana Shanider on Saturday, who advanced to the next round following a walkover from Sayaka Ishii. It is Zheng's sixth semifinal appearance this year and her third consecutive semifinal of the Asian swing of this WTA schedule.

Zheng is currently the WTA World No. 7 with a record of 39-16. Her highlight of the year came when she won a gold medal for China in the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. She has already secured her spot in next month's WTA Finals.

6 semifinal appearances in 2024 for Zheng Qinwen 🔝#TorayPPO2024 pic.twitter.com/rYT9qBStn4

— wta (@WTA) October 25, 2024

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