Coco Gauff delight as Zhang Shuai ends 24-match losing run with 'perfect timing' - 'So great to see her win'

Published 25/09/2024 at 14:48 GMT

Zhang Shuai's losing streak is over. The 35-year-old had lost 24 matches in a row before battling past McCartney Kessler in the first round of the China Open. Zhang called it the "perfect timing" as she recorded her first WTA Tour win since January 2023. Zhang's former doubles partner Coco Gauff said it is "so great to see her win" and she "deserves everything".

Cilic celebrates long-awaited title with Hangzhou Open victory over Zhizhen

Twenty-four matches, 603 days.

That’s how long Zhang Shuai’s losing streak was until she beat McCartney Kessler in the first round of the China Open on Wednesday.

Former world No. 22 Zhang hadn’t won a WTA Tour match since January 2023.

WTA Beijing

Raducanu withdraws from China Open due to ligament injury that 'needs more time to heal'

23/09/2024 at 13:07

Her losing run was the second longest in WTA history, behind only Madeleine Pegel’s 29-match losing streak in the very early days of the Open Era.

"I think that this is the perfect timing," Zhang told WTA Insider after holding her nerve to beat Kessler 7-6(5) 7-6(1).

"My first win at a WTA tournament was 15 years ago at China Open, and then the next day I beat the No.1 player [Dinara Safina]. Maybe God has a plan."

Finally getting over the line was far from easy for Zhang.

She had to come from a break down in the opening set, taking the tie-break on her third set point.

In the second set, she was broken when serving for the match after missing a volley on match point.

"When I'm sitting there I told myself, if I'm still thinking of this point I will lose the whole match," said Zhang.

"So I told myself my doubles partner did it. When my partner plays a bad point, I don't care. I say it's OK, nobody can be perfect. But sometimes you can be angry with yourself."

Zhang managed to put the miss behind her as she came through a deuce game at 6-5 down and then ran away with the tie-breaker.

Zhang, 35, is ranked at No. 595 in the world rankings and was 0-8 for the season heading into the China Open.

Reflecting on her losing run, she said: "I played a lot of great players: [Karolina] Pliskova, [Diana] Snaider, [Veronika] Kudermetova, [Daria] Kasatkina.

"It was like before when I lost the first round at the Grand Slams all the time.

"So I thought I have to challenge myself, but I am not young anymore. So I don't have so many chances. I don't have that many tournaments. I need a little bit better draw. I need at least one more win in my life."

Zhang’s win was welcome news for former doubles partner Coco Gauff.

"It was tough to see her going through the streak," Gauff told WTA Insider.

“But honestly, through it all you would have never noticed she was going through that. I've seen her literally five minutes after matches and she would still say hi to me and be so excited to see me, which, I'm not like that after I lose.

"That just shows the type of person she is. I've learned a lot from her."

Gauff also revealed how Zhang’s belief in her stuck with her during her triumphant 2023 US Open run.

Gauff had been beaten in the quarter-finals of the French Open when she received some words of encouragement from Zhang, who was at the start of her losing streak.

"She said 'Don't worry Coco. You will win a Grand Slam. I have so much belief in you. I would bet my life on it,'" said Gauff. "And then I won US Open!

"I never told her that, but it stuck with me or a long time, just that she had that belief in me. I think every player on tour likes her so it's so great to see her win. I love her. She deserves everything."

Zhang faces sixth seed Emma Navarro in the second round of the China Open.

- - -

Stream top tennis action live on Eurosport and discovery+

Davis Cup