Australian Open 2025: Nerves tested as Zheng Qinwen triumphs over spirited Anca Todoni

Zheng Qinwen made a hard-fought debut victory against qualifier Anca Todoni, winning 7-6, 6-2 in the first round of the Australian Open. The world No. 5 displayed dominance throughout significant stretches of the match, though the young Romanian gained confidence and put pressure on the Chinese player, especially in the closing stages of the first set.

The 20-year-old Romanian was making just her second Grand Slam main draw appearance, having reached the second round at Wimbledon last year. Despite her inexperience, she demonstrated strong character and an impressive performance, challenging the Paris 2024 gold medalist.

Todoni tests Zheng, but the world No. 5 prevails in straight sets

At the outset, Zheng appeared the clear favourite, despite being just two years older than Todoni (No. 110), having already established herself on the big stage. Todoni showed early on that she could rival Zheng, although initially struggling to break the Chinese player’s serve. Zheng won 20 of the first 22 points on her serve.

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The break came in the seventh game, and things looked bleak for Todoni as Zheng led 5-4, 40-0. However, serving troubles began to emerge for the world No. 5. A double fault and difficulty landing her first serve highlighted Zheng’s nerves, leading to unforced errors that allowed the Romanian to secure a break and gain confidence as the set progressed to a tiebreaker.

Although the Romanian appeared more confident heading into the set decider, that was when Zheng asserted her status as a title contender, closing out the set 7-6(3) while showcasing her fierce on-court personality with loud celebrations. Despite late-set service struggles, Zheng maintained an impressive 70% first-serve rate, winning 87% of those points.

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At the start of the second set, Zheng fended off a break point before capitalising on her first opportunity against Todoni’s serve. ‘Queen Wen’ secured the break and swiftly built a 3-0 lead. Todoni then requested a medical timeout for lower back issues, but after a brief pause, the match resumed with no visible signs of discomfort from the Romanian on court.

Zheng held firmly to her serve towards the latter part of the match, securing a break on her first opportunity in the sixth game and comfortably closing out the victory. The second set showcased relentless quality tennis, with Zheng limiting extended rallies and sealing the win 7-6(3), 6-1 after one hour and 51 minutes.

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