China's Paris Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen advanced to the WTA Finals after defeating the Czech Republic's Barbora Krejcikova 6-3, 7-5 in the semifinal in Riyadh of Saudi Arabia on Friday.
Speaking with Chinese state broadcaster China Media Group (CMG) after her win, the Chinese tennis sensation said she was happy to reach World No. 5 in live rankings.
"I'm happy that I moved up to the 5th in the year-end world rankings. I've been ranking the 7th since the start of the year, and played so hard tournament-to-tournament, finally jumped to the 5th." said Zheng.
During the interview, the 22-year-old also reflected on fighting back when trailing 3-4 in the second set.
"I was not focused enough at that time and my performance was a little bit weak. My opponent on the contrary played more relaxed, I wasted too much time waiting for my opponent's mistakes instead of playing more aggressively. But I think this is part of tennis, the situation can reverse real quickly if you miss a few chances. So this is sort of a lesson for me. But I think what I've done well is that I managed to play calmly even when I was trailing by 3-4. I failed to do that in the previous games, but I did it today," said Zheng.
"I was leading by 3-0, but lost two serves. This was a mistake that should not have happened on an indoor hard court. So I stayed very focused on my next serve when I was on the court. And I knew that I always had a chance in her serve, because I could basically receive every serve. And I found that she played better and better as the game went on. And I also delivered exciting moments. I think in the end it was a competition of aura and psychological resilience," she continued.
The Chinese tennis player will face World No.3 Coco Gauff in the final on Saturday.
Zheng reached the final on her WTA Finals debut, matching another Chinese player, former French Open champion Li Na's best result in 2013.
Chinese star tennis player Zheng Qinwen reaches WTA finals
The frequent group visits led by Ma Ying-jeou, former chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang, to the mainland have contributed to fostering a warmer atmosphere in cross-Strait relations.
Ma led a group of youth from Taiwan visited Heilongjiang Province in the northwest and Sichuan Province in the southwest from December 18 to 26, marking his third group visit to the mainland in the past two years.
Ahead of the visit, a 94-year-old Anti-Japanese War veteran wrote a sincere letter after learning that Ma would visit the Exhibition Hall of Evidence of Crime Committed by Unit 731 of the Japanese aggressor troops.
In the message, Wang Jitang, the veteran, expressed his support for Ma's commitment to the "1992 Consensus" and the advancement of peaceful cross-Strait relations.
"As a veteran of the War of the Chinese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the history I personally experienced is also a shared pain and struggle for compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. People on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are of a same family. We are like relatives. I hope that young friends in Taiwan, like Ma, will treat the mainland as their own home, visit often as if visiting relatives, and frequently engage with each other," Wang said.
Hsiao Hsu-tsen, executive director of the Taiwan-based Ma Ying-jeou Culture and Education Foundation, said he was deeply moved by Wang's sincere wish.
"History must never be forgotten. Through such on-site visits and study, we need to experience and appreciate how our forefathers sacrificed themselves to protect our homeland and defend our country," Hsiao said. When talking about the purpose of the current group visit, Ma emphasized the crucial importance of mutual exchanges between young people from both sides of the Taiwan Strait. He expressed the hope to build a bridge for peace between the two sides which transcends political challenges, and which conveys the shared desire of the people on both sides for communication.
Many people from the both sides of the Taiwan Strait agree that the more tense cross-Strait relations become, the more vital it is to sustain exchanges.
Ma Ying-jeou's frequent group visits to mainland enhance warmth in cross-Strait relations
