NAGOYA, Japan, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- China is assured of the tennis women's singles gold medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games after Zhang Shuai and Wang Xiyu won their respective semifinals Thursday to set up an all-Chinese final.
Zhang, competing at her fourth Asian Games, defeated second-seeded Kazakhstan player Yulia Putintseva 6-4, 6-2.
The 37-year-old veteran repeatedly gained the upper hand through long baseline exchanges and converted five of seven break points.
"She is a very tough opponent, and I always find it difficult to beat her. I'm proud of the way I played today. Every time, I feel like it might be my last Asian Games. But look, here I am again. So I think you should never put limits on yourself. As long as you have a dream and keep a young heart, it's never too late," Zhang said after the match.
On the pride of playing for country, Zhang added: "Although tennis is a professional sport, every athlete has a different spark when they talk about events like the Davis Cup, Hopman Cup. There is a different sense of pride that you don't get from tournaments on the tour."
In the other women's singles semifinal, China's Wang staged a comeback against top-seeded Philippine rising star Alexandra Eala.
Wang got off to a slow start and fell behind 5-0. Although she fought her way back, she dropped the opening set 6-3.
"She was very quick to get into the match, and was very calm in dealing with the match. She constantly put me under pressure and didn't give up easy points. That's something I have to learn from - be better at getting into the swing of things quickly," Wang said after the match.
"She didn't give me a lot of time to adjust, she had very few unforced errors. That's the pressure that someone ranked in the top 20 puts you under."
Wang then cut down on her errors and won the next two sets 6-3, 6-2 to complete the comeback and reach the final.
"At the time, I suddenly thought about Zheng Qinwen being down 5-0 before and making that incredible comeback. I wanted to try to do the same. After all, losing 6-0 would have been a little embarrassing. But I didn't quite pull it off," Wang added.
Asked about facing Zhang in the final, Wang said: "Zhang Shuai is a fantastic senior player to me. She has always been generous in sharing her experience with us and encouraging younger players like me, telling us to believe in ourselves. In the final, I hope I can stay focused on the moment, give it everything I've got and play every point the best I can." ■
