Wang Qiang impresses in Zhuhai thriller despite defeat

World
Europe

The boisterous atmosphere at the Hengqin International Tennis Center might have forecast a match with plenty of nail-biting moments, but few had foreseen that local favorite Wang Qiang would emerge on the wrong side of a thrilling contest in front of a partisan crowd in the city of Zhuhai, south China's Guangdong Province.

The cheer from the home fans was deafening at times as the Chinese No.1 fell agonizingly short of defeating top seed Daria Kasatkina at the WTA Elite Trophy on Tuesday. Although Wang's display was not enough to grind out a victory, it certainly offered cause for optimism as she went down fighting 6-1, 2-6, 7-5 to the 21-year-old Russian star.

Top seed Daria Kasatkina celebrates with both fists clenched after edging out Wang Qiang in a thrilling contest at the WTA Elite Trophy in Zhuhai, October 30, 2018. /VCG Photo

Kasatkina looked in fine form from the get-go, with Wang dropping her first set of the tournament in less than a half an hour, but the Chinese eleventh seed did not lose any of her grit and fight. Rather than folding after the demoralizing start, Wang simply dug in and lifted her game noticeably, breaking all four of Kasatkina's service games. The momentum changed.

From then on, the result was seemingly inevitable as Wang leveled the match, but the hard-hitting Kasatkina had other plans. She moved brightly in a confident start of the deciding set and served Wang off the court at times. However, amid all that pressure, and in front of a Chinese crowd, the Russian struggled to keep her nerves under control while Wang found inspiration to break and rallied again.

The 26-year-old threw everything she had left at her Russian adversary, but Kasatkina took her time and repeatedly canceled out Wang's advantage and eventually scrapped through the rest of the set by a small margin, taking the final set.

Wang Qiang slips to narrow defeat at the hands of Kasatkina at the WTA Elite Trophy in Zhuhai, October 30, 2018. /VCG Photo

That Wang fell short was no disgrace and she is in buoyant mood despite the narrow loss. "I'm quite happy with my performance considering my opponent is a top ten player in the world," beamed Wang.

"Of course I'm gutted to lose because I've tried so hard to win. But I have seen some improvements in my game," she added.

"I know I am on the right path to rediscovering my best form, so I don't feel too bad after all."