PARIS, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- China's tennis ace Zheng Qinwen defeated Donna Vekic of Croatia 6-2, 6-3 to win the women's singles gold at the Paris Olympics here on Saturday. This marks the first time a Chinese or Asian woman has won a singles gold in the Olympics.
It is also China's second Olympic tennis gold. The last time China saw gold in an Olympic tennis event was in Athens 2004, when Li Ting and Sun Tiantian secured the country's first-ever Olympic tennis title after they won the women's doubles.
Supported by passionate Chinese fans who made their voices heard from the opening serve, Zheng broke immediately to take a two-game lead. Zheng's serve came under heavy pressure in the third game from Vekic, but the Chinese player was able to withstand the long battle of deuce to shore up a 3-0 lead.
Vekic's pressure on Zheng continued, but backed by the huge bunch of Chinese fans, Zheng remained firm.
Zheng took the first set after breaking Vekic in the eighth game, hitting some trademark winners in 48 minutes. More of those winners were on display in the second set as Zheng broke first to lead 2-0. But the Croatian won back two games to level the score at 2-2.
While Vekic may have been forgiven for thinking that the break could change her fortunes around, Zheng had other ideas. For the rest of the set, the 21-year-old was relentless and ruthless with her play.
Zheng's overwhelming pressure paid dividends in the seventh game after the Chinese player hit a powerful forehand winner at 40-15. The winner caused the pressure on Vekic to boil to the surface as she threw her racquet.
It would take a while before Vekic could calm and settle herself for the rest of the match. But the damage was done. Vekic was broken again in the eighth before Zheng held her serve to secure the victory.
As Zheng hit the final forehand winner, the 21-year-old tossed her racquet high in the Parisian sky and fell to the ground as the immediate realization of gold sunk in.
"Since I was a child, you can have a lot of inspiration on me and I always want to become the one of the agent that I can inspire all the young kids to make them fall in love with great sport, like tennis. Especially for girls," Zheng reflected on her historic success and the legacy that her medal could leave.
"I want to tell them to be brave and dream big. Achieving dreams requires setting goals, but the journey will have its hardships, doubts, and sacrifices. Enjoy the process because every failure is a step towards success. Standing where I am today, I can say that all the effort is worth it," Zheng said, speaking directly to young tennis fans staying up late in China to watch her matches.
However, Zheng also gave credit to her parents, who in turn helped inspire her.
"I love you, Mom and Dad. I know you weren't here to watch me today, but my success is thanks to your guidance and care. I couldn't have achieved this without your support. Although you couldn't be here in person, your love and teachings were with me every step of the way. Thank you," Zheng gushed.
In the bronze medal match earlier on Friday afternoon, world No. 1 Iga Swiatek of Poland downed Anna Karolina Schmiedlova from Slovakia 6-2, 6-1 to claim the bronze medal.
Earlier in the day, Australia claimed gold in the men's doubles as Matthew Ebden and John Peers defeated the American Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram 6-7 (6), 7-6 (1), 10-8 in a thrilling comeback. This victory marks Australia's first Olympic tennis gold since 1996. After losing the first set in a tiebreak, the Australians fought back from a set and a break down to win the second set in another tiebreak. In the super tiebreak, Ebden and Peers surged to an 8-3 lead and ultimately secured the win 10-8 despite a late challenge from the Americans.
