Third seed Kiki Bertens has been knocked out of the ongoing Zhengzhou Open in China after suffering a straight sets defeat to Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic in a rain-delayed second round contest on Thursday.
Bertens received a bye and entered the contest as the favorite after winning both of their previous meetings. However, 26-year-old Tomljanovic continued her good form by beating the Dutchwoman 6-4, 7-6. Even though Bertens is now out the Zhengzhou Open, she still had time before that defeat to talk to CGTN Sports Scene for the latest edition of 'Beyond the Baseline' where we discussed a season of mixed emotions.
While reflecting on the ongoing season, Bertens told CGTN, "This season, in general, is pretty good and I am still in the top 10. So I guess I did a lot of things quite well. But in Grand Slam tournaments I didn't go so far. There are the biggest tournaments of the year, and you want to do well there. But still there are 40 other weeks when we can play other tournaments, and there I did really good. So I think in general I am happy with how the season is going."
When asked about her first-breakthrough win at the Madrid Open, the Dutch player replied, "You can say that my Madrid Open success is the best win of my career. This is the biggest title of my career, and it also came with my highest ranking of No. 4 as the best Dutch female tennis player ever. So I am proud of all those achievements, and that came together during the week in Madrid."
She has already made a mark as a non-controversial and level-headed tennis player, and Bertens mentioned, "I just try to be who I am. I think that's important in life. My parents always teach me that you are just another person, and everyone is doing something good. I just want to have a good time on the tour. I am trying to have fun."
As she has been playing in China season of the tour, she has set her sights on the WTA Finals in Shenzhen. "Hopefully I can make it to the WTA Shenzhen Finals as still a few more weeks to go. I am going to do everything to be part of the first Shenzhen Finals. Let's see if I make it or not," an optimistic Bertens spoke on her upcoming target.