Zheng Qinwen Becomes Olympic Champion After Overpowering Vekic

Qinwen Zheng made history by winning the gold medal for China at the 2024 Paris Olympics, thanks to a win over Croatia's Donna Vekic.

This year's Olympics have been interesting because they yielded a final nobody saw coming. That's not to say that these players found themselves in the final thanks to sheer luck; that couldn't be farther from the truth.

Both of them earned their places in the final, and directly so because they bested the top two favorites in matches. Zheng, of course, bested Iga Swiatek with a stunningly cold effort that made a five-time Grand Slam champion look very nervous.

Vekic outplayed a very erratic Coco Gauff in one of the earlier rounds as well, and that's the story of how the top two favourites failed to make the final. Swiatek's efforts didn't go in vain, as she was able to win the bronze medal, but Gauff will remember this tournament as a big failure.

But the final day was not about failures; it was about the two players who fought to end their incredible run in Paris with the shiny gold medal. Zheng was the nominal favorite because she looked better than Vekic in the French capital.

She was also the higher-ranked player entering the tournament, which means she had better results this year. She is also more physically dominant, which matters to clay as well.

Predictions saw the Chinese player win this match, and so did the crowd at the Court Philippe-Chatrier, as dozens of Chinese flags flew around the iconic court. That certainly rang true early in this match as the Chinese player could take an early break.

It wasn't the cleanest match for either player because nerves were present on both sides. However, Zheng could control it much better as she had more winners than Vekic, who barely had any winners.

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Even when she did hit some as well as she could, she was met with a wall that her opponent put up. In the end, the opening set ended 6-2 for Zheng, who totaled 8 winners compared to only 3 from Vekic.

They both had 12 unforced errors. The second set didn't offer anything different as the higher-ranked player was able to take an early break in the second set as well. However, this time around, Vekic showed some heart and fight and broke back immediately to make it 1-2.

She then barely held her serve to make it 2-2, but she held it. Both players found a decent rhythm after that, as neither was able to break the other, so the score remained tied.

It wouldn't be like that for very long, as Zheng could exert too much pressure on her opponent and, after wasting a couple of break points, she finally broke for the 5-3 lead. From there, the Chinese player cruised to the finish line, winning the match 6-2, 6-4 to win the Olympic gold medal.

It was a great achievement for Zheng, who has been playing on an excellent level for a while but lacked a really signature performance. This one is certainly that, and it's a huge honor to win the gold medal for her country.

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