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SCMP Sport

Chinese tennis star Zheng Qinwen said she had to “calm down, take it slow and start from scratch again” amid a temporary change in her back-room staff as she made a winning start at the Nottingham Open on Monday.
The former world No 4, who had suffered three opening-round defeats in seven tournaments this year, beat sixth seed Maria Sakkari of Greece 4-6, 7-6, 6-4 in the first round as she builds up to Wimbledon later this month.
She will next face the winner of the match between Australia’s Talia Gibson and Britain’s Francesca Jones.
With her long-term coach Pere Riba still recovering from a car accident, Zheng said it would take time for new coach Albert Costa to gel with her coaching team, and the win provided an encouraging start.

“Riba is still recovering from the accident, as we all know, and he needs more time,” said Zheng, who is ranked No 122 now. “I don’t know exactly how long it will take, but based on what he told me so far, it’s about two or three months.”
Working with Costa for a second time since late May, Zheng said she felt good training with the 2002 French Open champion, but admitted any improvement would take a while.
“Don’t assume that every time you work with a new coach, you’ll suddenly have a magical feeling and your results will start to improve,” the 23-year-old said.
“It’s not like that. I think everything takes time, so I need to calm down and take it slow.”
Having suffered three opening-round defeats in seven tournaments this year, Zheng also said she needed to adjust herself and start climbing up again.
“There had been some coaching changes on my team after Rome and it did indeed affect me,” the Hubei native said. “After working better and better with my new team, and with more time, we started to find our own way of working together, and then everything started to get on track.
“Of course, I think these losses are something I have to go through, because after returning from injury, I’ve never been satisfied with my own condition. Now it’s like starting from scratch, and it’s another uphill climb.”
An Olympic champion in Paris only two years ago, Zheng saw her rankings free-fall by about 100 places, after starting the new season at No 24, and the right-hander from China was adamant there were no secrets at all for her on how to retrieve the situation.

“Just keep working – it’s just like what we were always used to say, that ‘there are no secrets’. There are no secrets in tennis,” Zheng said. “When you lose, all you can do is keep trying, keep training, and find a way that suits you better.
“That doesn’t mean all my previous efforts have been wasted if I lose today. It just means I need a period of accumulation; I need to wait for that moment to see when it will explode.
“For me, it’s now a process of climbing uphill, because during my injury period, all the skills I had accumulated were actually used up. Now, these training sessions and matches are all about building up my skills again. I think I can do even better, but I’m just giving myself more time and taking it slow.”
Depending on how far she goes in Nottingham, Zheng could still have the Eastbourne Open to play in next week before the start of Wimbledon, where Zheng has already secured a spot in the main draw.


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China’s Zheng Qinwen says she needs to ‘start from scratch’ as she beats first-round hoodoo

China’s Zheng Qinwen beat Greece’s No 6 seed Maria Sakkari on day one of the Nottingham Open on Monday. Photo: AP

Former French Open champion Albert Costa started coaching Zheng Qinwen again last month. Photo: Reuters

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Zheng Qinwen has lost again, this time to Jaqueline Cristian of Romania at the Queen’s Club Championships. Photo: Xinhua

Zheng Qinwen crying at a press conference after her loss to Maja Chwalinska at the French Open last month. Photo: Xinhua

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Sun Xinran celebrates winning a point during her girl’s singles final against Alisa Oktiabreva. Photo: Xinhua

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Sport

China

Tennis

Ex-world No 4 makes winning start at Nottingham Open on Monday but says she just has to ‘keep working’ with interim coach Albert Costa


Ex-world No 4 makes winning start at Nottingham Open on Monday but says she just has to ‘keep working’ with interim coach Albert Costa.


Wimbledon

Zheng Qinwen

China’s Zheng Qinwen says she needs to ‘start from scratch’ as she beats first-round hoodoo

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Ex-world No 4 makes winning start at Nottingham Open on Monday but says she just has to ‘keep working’ with interim coach Albert Costa

Ex-world No 4 makes winning start at Nottingham Open on Monday but says she just has to ‘keep working’ with interim coach Albert Costa