Zheng Qinwen Survived A Near Death Experience At The U.S. Open

Given that tennis is effectively professionalized, legalized psychological torture, a choke and an epic comeback often go hand-in-hand. Take, say, when Zheng Qinwen faced Madison Keys at the U.S. Open on Saturday. Zheng won a match in which she was down 6-1, 6(3)-7, 5-1 and had to save a match point on her opponent's serve. A comeback, absolutely, but also, perhaps, a choke on Key's part. So: yea or nay? If one were to point to said match to support the case for "yea"—shown in the extraordinarily meager and insufficient official highlights here at 2:18—it would not be because Keys lost that point but because of how she lost it. Viewed in isolation, the match point looks like it was lost after a good return on an 85 mph second serve. In context, it is worse: Keys caught her first ball toss, then decided to more or less just kick in an 85 mph first serve. Zheng made a backhand return that was deep but not necessarily unmanageable, but Keys's feet got stuck as she hit a backhand into the net. Deuce. Zheng returned a 105 mph first serve on the next point, then finished a brief rally by smashing an off backhand that hit the line. On break point, Zheng made a weak, shallow, return that Keys misread, hitting a weak forehand up the middle rather than a plus one winner. That limp forehand allowed Zheng to wrestle control of, and ultimately win, the point. Zheng Qinwen would not lose another game for the rest of the match; conversely, Madison Keys would not win another one. After Keys was broken for a third consecutive time to go down 6-5 in the final set, she smacked her head with her racket several times. On Zheng's own match point at 6-5, 40-30, she successfully wrestled a backhand down the line off a strong Keys return, and Keys hit a running forehand error. Game, set, match.

Read it at Defector ↗

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