Usually, you'd have to wait till the finals of a grand slam before any player in the women's draw can defeat Serena Williams.
Bianca Andreescu did it in the US Open last year.
Qiang Wang though had other plans. I think her 61 60 loss to Serena in the US Open QFs last year gave her all the learning she could from that match to give Serena a 64 67(2) 75 loss when they met again here in Melbourne.
I was in the edge of my seat most of the time because Wang wasn't giving up. She was really pushing Serena who was really playing well too!
One great thing about Serena is that she never rolls down and plays dead, when she's in the backseat. She always fights back, so Qiang had to be fighting in all cylinders just to make sure she stays ahead.
It has been awhile since Chinese women have made a dent in women's singles tennis - Li Na, Zheng Jie and Peng Shuai have made inroads before.
Today's generation of Chinese players still have to make their presence felt. Zhang Shuai made a dent here in Melbourne a few years back.
I hope Qiang Wang opens the doors for them and goes deeper into the tournament, this time around.
With Naomi Osaka flying the flag for Asian women players, I look forward to seeing more Asians in the top 20 soon.
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