Zhang Shuai is aiming for her first title of the new season today, while Swiatek's dream of a career Grand Slam at the Australian Open has already been shattered?

In the second week of the new tennis season tour, Chinese tennis once again kept the spotlight until the very end, with the 36-year-old Zhang Shuai claiming this little red flower!

After the leading player Wang Xinyu was knocked out in singles and withdrew from doubles in Hobart, there was intense public debate about who could carry the flag for Chinese tennis this week. Ultimately, Zhang Shuai answered that by reaching the doubles final at the Adelaide 500 event.

Since the season began, Zhang Shuai has been hailed as the bravest Chinese female player. While other players played it safe by avoiding the tough 500-level tournaments and warmed up for the Australian Open with lower-tier events, this 36-year-old veteran insisted on competing at the top level, attending both the Brisbane and Adelaide WTA 500 tournaments without missing a single event.

At that time, expectations for Zhang Shuai’s singles performance were low, with many believing doubles was her best chance to shine. Unexpectedly, in Brisbane’s first round against Sabalenka, who hadn't played doubles for years, Zhang Shuai was eliminated early despite widespread optimism.

People thought Zhang Shuai would also struggle to stand out in doubles after moving to Adelaide, but this time, partnering with Siniakova, she avoided another upset. This Grand Slam doubles champion pair displayed strong teamwork throughout, especially in the semifinals, where fans and netizens praised them for “withstanding the test and showing what championship quality means.”

Looking back now, Zhang Shuai and Siniakova’s semifinal was truly full of peril.

Especially after losing the first set 6-4 to the Danilina and Krunic duo, Zhang Shuai’s team seemed to struggle, causing widespread concern that this Grand Slam doubles champion pair might be swept out, making it hard for Chinese tennis to keep its flag flying till the end.

The tension eased slightly when Zhang Shuai’s team won the second set 6-2, but the deciding set tiebreak once again had fans and netizens on edge.

Fortunately, Zhang Shuai and Siniakova’s extensive experience in major finals played a crucial role at this critical moment, ultimately winning the tiebreak 10-8 by a narrow margin, giving everyone quite a scare.

After such a tough comeback to reach the final, almost everyone agreed that the saying “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” perfectly applies to Zhang Shuai and Siniakova, and barring any major mishaps, their chances of lifting the trophy are very high.

Their opponents in the final are Kichenok and Krawczyk, who, judging by overall doubles records and rich tournament experience, clearly make Zhang Shuai’s pair the favorites.

This highly anticipated doubles final will start at 5:30 PM Beijing time today, with some netizens boldly claiming that Zhang Shuai’s first title of the new season is just around the corner.

Although Zhang Shuai’s first title of the new season is considered quite secure, her upcoming Australian Open journey looks less optimistic. Facing local wildcard Preston in the first round, many fans and netizens are worried whether Zhang Shuai can get past this round, especially since Preston once defeated Raducanu, proving she is a formidable opponent who must be handled carefully to create an upset.

It is understandable that Zhang Shuai, due to her lower ranking, may not receive favorable draws, but the current world No. 2 Swiatek’s overall draw at this Australian Open is also not very lucky, which might just be fate.

Before the Australian Open draw was released, everyone focused on one question about the Polish player Swiatek: whether she could leave Melbourne smiling after achieving the “career Grand Slam” milestone.

Looking at Swiatek’s current draw, passing the first three rounds should not be a problem, but from the fourth round to the final, her potential opponents include Naomi Osaka, Leylah Fernandez, and Sabalenka, all of whom pose significant challenges for the Polish player.

Moreover, many people’s skepticism about Swiatek achieving a career Grand Slam this year is also linked to her performance at the United Cup. She lost crucial singles matches in both the semifinals and the final, indicating unstable form, which increases the difficulty of her completing the career Grand Slam in Melbourne.

Some have even sarcastically said that based on Swiatek’s poor performance at the United Cup, not only is a career Grand Slam out of reach, but even matching last year’s semifinal result would be a blessing.

It seems Swiatek truly needs to demonstrate her strength this time to prove herself to the world!(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Moon River’s Starry Sky)