AFTER half a dozen losses to Iga Swiatek, Chinese Top 10 talent Qinwen Zheng found the winning formula to defeat the world number one and reach the 2024 Paris Olympics Gold Medal Match.

In a match that was riddled with errors and breaks of serve early, it was Zheng who kicked away in the second half of the set to win the last four games to race to a 6-2 lead in just 39 minutes.

The world number one regained her composure to get back on top early in the second set and broke in her first two receiving games to skip to a 4-0 lead. However while in most cases the Pole would simply race away with the set and match, Zheng had other ideas.

She managed to level at 4-4, winning seven of the next eight games to go from being on the verge of losing the second set to securing a guaranteed Olympic medal. The second set took an hour and 12 minutes for a total time of one hour and 51 minutes, but it mattered little to Zheng who had finally conquered her nemesis after six failed attempts.

The sixth seed hit two less winners during the match (8-10) but was far more consistent after some early mistakes to finish with just 13 unforced errors. By comparison, Swiatek hit an uncharacteristic 36 unforced errors among 51 total errors, and struggled on serve.

In the end, Zheng converted an incredible six breaks from 13 chances compared to Swiatek’s three from six, as the Pole won just four points off her second serve and 44.3 per cent total points off her serve.

In the other semi-final, Croatian Donna Vekic guaranteed herself a gold or silver medal with a comprehensive win over giant-killing Slovakian Anna Karolina Schmiedlova. Vekic won 6-4 6-0 in a 65-minute rout.

Winning the last seven games of the match, Vekic finished with 18 winners to eight and only 22 errors to 32, while winning 79.3 per cent of her first serve points. She put down six aces and was able to break just the once in the first set before doing it all three times in the second set, not facing a break point herself in the process.

Schmiedlova will now take on Swiatek for the chance at a bronze medal tonight.

WOMEN’S SINGLES RESULTS: SEMI-FINALS

[6] Qinwen Zheng (CHN) defeated [1] Iga Swiatek (POL) 6-2 7-5
Donna Vekic (CRO) defeated Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (SVK) 6-4 6-0

Meanwhile in the women’s doubles, young doubles duo Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider caused a massive boilover agaisnt gold medal favourites Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova, winning in straight sets to reach the semi-finals. The pair got up 6-1 7-5 after defeating fifth seeds Gabriela Dabrowski and Leylah Fernandez in the second round.

The neutral athlete pair will take on Spanish eighth seeds Cristina Bucsa and Sara Sorribes Tormo in the semis after the duo took down Ukrainian twins, Lyudmyla and Nadiia Kichenok. Bucsa and Sorribes Tormo had to fight through an epic third set super tiebreak to win, 6-3 2-6 12-10.

In similar circumstances, Czech duo Karolina Muchova and Linda Noskova came back from winning just one game in the first set to defeat Chinese Taipei pair Su-Wei Hsieh and Chia Yi Tsao. The Czechs won 1-6 6-4 14-12 to book their place in the semis up against third seeds Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini.

The Italian duo moved through in the easiest fashion compared to the other semi-finalists, winning 6-3 6-1 to give themselves a 75 per chance of a medal.

WOMEN’S DOUBLES RESULTS: QUARTER FINALS

M. Andreeva/D. Shnaider (AIN) defeated [2] B. Krejcikova/K. Siniakova (CZE) 6-1 7-5
[3] S. Errani/J. Paolini (ITA) defeated K. Boulter/H. Watson (GBR) 6-3 6-1
[8] C. Bucsa/S. Sorribes Tormo (ESP) defeated L. Kichenok/N. Kichenok (UKR) 6-3 2-6 12-10
K. Muchova/L. Noskova (CZE) defeated S. Hsieh/C. Tsao (TPE) 1-6 6-4 14-12