MELBOURNE, Australia — Zheng Qinwen’s tennis resume is quite different from what it was when she showed up at the Australian Open a full year ago. No matter everything she accomplished in 2024 — a runner-up finish at Melbourne Park; an Olympic gold medal for China — she felt jitters before entering Rod Laver Arena on Sunday.
After overcoming some hiccups late in the opening set of her first-round match on a stormy Day 1 at the season’s first major tennis tournament, Zheng came through with a 7-6 (3), 6-1 victory against Anca Todoni, a 20-year-old qualifier from Romania who has won one Grand Slam match in her career.
“Actually, I feel really nervous,” said Zheng, who is seeded No. 5. “I started to feel nervous already since yesterday, ’cause I felt special emotion for the Australian Open. … I really like it here.”
As well she should. After all, it was 12 months ago on Melbourne’s hard courts that Zheng made it all the way to the final before losing to Aryna Sabalenka. The two-time champion was due to begin her title defense as the No. 1 seed on Sunday night against 2017 U.S. Open title winner Sloane Stephens, before Alexander Zverev, the men’s No. 2 seed, faced Lucas Pouille.
Two of the first three men’s contests to conclude both went five sets. Kei Nishikori, the 2014 U.S. Open runner-up, saved a pair of match points in the third set and came all the way back to beat qualifier Thiago Monteiro 4-6, 6-7 (4), 7-5, 6-3, 6-3, while No. 6 Casper Ruud, a three-time finalist at majors, defeated Jaume Munar 6-3, 1-6, 7-5, 2-6, 6-1.
Nishikori, competing in Melbourne for the first time in four years after a series of hip, ankle and knee injuries, raised his arms and threw his head back, causing his black hat to fall off, after improving to 29-8 in five-setters, including 8-1 at the Australian Open.
Before her run in Australia last January, Zheng had only played in eight major tournaments, making one quarterfinal. Her big-hitting breakthrough opened a season in which she wound up with a gold draped around her neck at the Paris Games in August.
The 22-year-old Zheng’s power-based game is best suited for hard courts, and playing indoors doesn’t hurt, either, so she eventually was quite comfortable against Todoni under a closed retractable roof, while thunder and lightning and a serious downpour suspended action on the courts that can’t be covered.
Still, Zheng frittered away set points while serving for the opener at 5-4, then was forced to save set points for Todoni later. Afterward, Zheng said that being nervous usually makes her focus better, but this time, it didn’t make “me play my best tennis out there.”
Maybe that’s because it was her first match of the season. Still, she was good enough on this day.
The second set was more one-sided, and Todoni took a medical timeout for treatment on her lower back after three games.
Zheng was among only a handful of players able to complete matches in the early going at what is now a 15-day tournament after a Sunday start was instituted last year. That extra time, which spreads out the first round across three days, could be particularly helpful this week, when Monday’s packed program already included matches for Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek.
Other winners Sunday afternoon included No. 14 Mirra Andreeva, a 17-year-old from Russia; No. 18 Donna Vekic. No. 20 Arthur Fils finished his opener in four sets.
“To be able to play a match and to finish a match with a roof, it’s much more easy than … to stop with the rain,” said Fils, who eliminated Otto Virtanen of Finland 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4, 6-4. “So, yeah, it’s a nice treatment.”
