Big Upset in Third Round of Australian Open - Wang Qiang vs Serena Williams
6-4, 6-7, 7-5.
Above is the scoreline of Wang Qiang’s third round match against Serena Williams in the Australian Open. In case you were wondering, Wang Qiang delivered the upset, winning Serena in three sets.
Now let us rewind a few months back to the US Open in September, the same line-up of Wang Qiang vs Serena Williams.
6-1, 6-0.
Above is the scoreline that fateful match. Back then Serena thrashed - and I mean really THRASHED - Wang in under 45 minutes. Given that history, it is safe to say no one would have predicted the fight from Wang today, let alone such a result. If Wang struggled helplessly against Serena in the US Open, the player we saw on court today was a whole different person.
During her on-court interview after the match, Wang credits her team for believing she could beat Serena, as well as the immense hard work she put in on and off the court after their previous encounter. What an inspiring turn around by Wang Qiang and over such a short span of just four months. Her display today is truly the epitome of the phrase “Hard Work Pays Off”.
Before ending the interview, Sam Smith asked Wang if she is going to allow herself any celebrations tonight, given that Lunar New Year is tomorrow.
“Nope,” replied the 28-year-old with a giggle.
When asked what she will be doing, Wang responded, “Take a rest before preparing for the next match.”
Interestingly, her next round opponent is Ons Jabeur, who coincidentally took out Serena’s best friend Caroline Wozniacki earlier today. Although we will not be seeing a reunion of two of tennis’s best friends on court, I am pretty sure we will be up for an exciting match between Wang and Jabeur, two players hungry to get into week 2 of the Happiest Slam of the year!
