Chinese Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen crashes out of Dubai event for third loss in a row
World No 8 seemed set for easy win over Peyton Stearns but ran out of ideas in the deciding set, failing to convert her break point chances
Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen crashed out of the round of 32 of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Wednesday, losing to American Peyton Stearns 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.
World No 8 Zheng has now lost three matches in a row, starting with a shock second-round exit from the Australian Open last month, as she looks to find the form that saw her rise to a career-best fifth in the world in 2024.
Zheng seemed to be on course for an easy victory, breaking serve in both the first and last game of the opening set at the WTA 1000 event, in a match that lasted two hours and 35 minutes.
World No 46 Stearns barely laid a glove on Zheng in the early stages and things seemed to be about to get worse when she called for a physiotherapist to check her blood pressure in the first set.
After that short check-up, China’s No 1 sat her back down immediately, winning the game to love before breaking serve to take the set.
Zheng started the match like a woman on fire, winning 10 out of 11 of her first service points and moving Stearns around the court with great forearm shots. But as the game progressed, her performance dropped – the polar opposite of Stearns’.