Tough love drives Zheng to success

Zheng Qinwen paid an emotional tribute to her parents for allowing her "to focus on her dream" of becoming an Olympic champion.

The 21-year-old became China's first tennis singles gold medalist with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Croatia's Donna Vekic.

Zheng said her father's tough love had been key to her history-making moment at Roland Garros.

"He pushed me hard. Even on Chinese New Year there was no rest. He'd take me to the track, he'd make me run up and down the stairs to make my body work," she recalled.

"My success comes a lot from my parents. They allowed me to stay focused on my dream.

"They always believed in me. They weren't like other parents who said 'you can't do that.' When I was nine or 10, they told me I would win a Slam and be a champion."

Her success in the final came after a roller-coaster week in Paris where she saved a match point in her third-round win over Emma Navarro and was blasted by the American for possessing a "cut-throat" attitude.

In the semi-finals she defeated top-ranked Iga Swiatek for the first time in seven meetings, ending the four-time French Open champion's 25-match win streak at Roland Garros.

"I always want to be better and after this gold medal I feel finally I can play tennis more relaxed and have fun on the court."

Her father, she says, has always treated the Olympics bigger than the Slams. "So if I lose, I can say to him 'hey, I made history at the Olympics'."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE