Chinese 12th seed Zheng Qinwen came from a set down to beat unseeded Russian Anna Kalinskaya at the Australian Open last night, setting up a semi-final clash against Ukrainian qualifier Dayana Yastremska.
The 21-year-old, known to her fans as "Queen Wen," had never progressed beyond the quarter-finals in eight previous Grand Slam appearances but held her nerve to win 6-7 (4/7), 6-3, 6-1 in two hours and 20 minutes.
"In the first set we had a big competition and the match was really tough for me," Zheng said.
"I just told myself to stay focused, not think anymore about the first set and I'm so happy right now, really excited."
The players secured two breaks apiece in a tight first set on Rod Laver Arena but neither was able to make a decisive move and it went to a tiebreak, where Kalinskaya dug deeper.
The match followed a similar pattern in the second set, with nothing to separate them until Zheng broke in the eighth game when Kalinskaya dumped a forehand into the net.
Zheng sealed the set in the next game with an ace.
The Chinese star broke twice to lead 4-1 in the deciding set as the match quickly drifted away from Kalinskaya.
Victory means Zheng will move into the top 10 for the first time. "That's good news for me. I said last year at the Australian Open I wanted to be top 10 and one year later I'm here," she said. "It's an amazing moment."
Yastremska, 23, beat Czech Linda Noskova 6-3, 6-4 to become the first women's qualifier to reach the last four in Melbourne since the 1978 tournament.
Two-time runner-up Daniil Medvedev of Russia battled past big-serving Hubert Hurkacz 7-6 (7/4), 2-6, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 to reach the last four.
The 27-year-old, who lost to Novak Djokovic in the 2021 final and Rafael Nadal the following year, said he felt "destroyed" after the contest, which lasted nearly four hours.
China's Zheng Qinwen rallied after losing the opening set to beat Anna Kalinskaya. AFP
Dayana Yastremska
